Biology subjects

Hadincova, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Hadincova, V..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Root foraging response to gradients of calcium and magnesium, essential bivalent cations with low mobility in the soil

Plants forage for nutrients by root proliferation in nutrient-rich patches. While foraging for nitrogen and phosphorus has been repeatedly confirmed, foraging for calcium and magnesium, which are essential for plant growth and form much more stable patches in the soil, has never been examined. We examined preferential root placement into dolomite-limestone-rich patches in a pot experiment with 17 species, and compared it with foraging for a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium mixture (NPK). About one half of the species showed root proliferation in dolomite-rich patches. It was less pronounced than foraging for NPK and did not show any relationship to species field preferences to soil reaction, or dicots-grass difference, but it showed clear negative relationship to species-specific Ca+Mg tissue concentrations. While foraging for NPK shows the potential of species to change their root systems by proliferation, only some species use this potential to respond to the Ca+Mg gradient. The negative correlation of this response to Ca+Mg tissue concentrations implies that nonresponding species compensate for it by physiological mechanisms. The response to Ca+Mg also implies that in contrast to nitrogen, which never shows stable patches in the soil, Ca+Mg-rich patches, which are much more stable, can be exploited by root proliferation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Functional traits trade-offs define plant population stability worldwide

O_LIEcological theory posits that temporal stability patterns in plant populations are associated with differences in species ecological strategies. However, empirical evidence is lacking about which traits, or trade-offs, underlie species stability, specially across different ecosystems. C_LIO_LITo address this, we compiled a global collection of long-term permanent vegetation records (>7000 plots from 78 datasets) from a wide range of habitats and combined this with existing trait databases. We tested whether the observed inter-annual variability in species abundance (coefficient of variation) was related to multiple individual traits and multivariate axes of trait variations (PCoA axes). C_LIO_LIWe found that species with greater leaf dry matter content and seed mass were consistently more stable over time (lower variability in species abundance) although other leaf traits played a significant role as well, albeit weaker. Using multivariate axes did not improve predictions by specific traits. C_LIO_LIOur results confirm existing theory, providing compelling empirical evidence on the importance of specific traits, which point at ecological trade-offs in different resource use and dispersal strategies, on the stability of plant populations worldwide. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Ecophysiological traits of a clonal grass in its climate change response

BackgroundUnderstanding the ability of species to respond to climate change is essential for prediction of their future distribution. When migration is not adequate, reaction via phenotypic plasticity or genetic adaptation is necessary. While many studies investigated the importance of plasticity and genetic differentiation (plant origin) in growth related traits, we know less about differentiation in ecophysiological traits. In addition, the existing studies looking at plant physiology usually do not estimate the consequences of these physiological changes for species performance. MethodsWe used a clonal grass Festuca rubra originating from localities representing factorially crossed gradients of temperatures and precipitations. We cultivated the plants in growth chambers set to simulate temperature and moisture regime in the four most extreme localities. We measured net photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll fluorescence, SLA, osmotic potential, stomatal density and stomatal length as range of ecophysiological traits and tested their relationship to plant fitness measured as ramet number and biomass. Key resultsWe found strong phenotypic plasticity in photosynthetic traits and genetic differentiation in stomatal traits. In most traits, the effects of temperature interacted with the effects of moisture. The relationship between the ecophysiological and fitness-related traits was significant but weak. ConclusionsEcophysiological response of Festuca rubra to climate change is driven by phenotypic plasticity as well as by genetic differentiation indicating potential ability of the populations to adapt to new climatic conditions. The changes in ecophysiological traits translate into plant fitness even though other unmeasured factors also play an important role in fitness determination. Inclusion of species ecophysiology into studies of species adaptation to climate can still increase our ability to understand how species may respond to novel conditions.

plant biology↗