Ecological significance of marcescence in Himalayan plants: Why is standing dead phytomass more important in demanding, resource-limited environments?

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985939%3A_____%2F24%3A00598888" target="_blank" >RIV/67985939:_____/24:00598888 - isvavai.cz</a>

Nalezeny alternativní kódy

RIV/60076658:12310/24:43908001

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14513" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14513</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14513" target="_blank" >10.1111/1365-2435.14513</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Ecological significance of marcescence in Himalayan plants: Why is standing dead phytomass more important in demanding, resource-limited environments?

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Understanding mechanisms allowing plants to thrive in challenging conditions is critical for predicting their responses to global environmental change. An often overlooked ecological adaptation is marcescence, where leaves and stems are retained beyond their typical shedding time, with implications for nutrient recycling and carbon sequestration. Marcescence can be expected in plants with conservative resource-use strategies, especially in environments with limited resources and marked seasonality, such as deserts and alpine regions. However, the extent to which marcescence occurs in different taxa across different habitats and its relationship to seasonality and plant functioning as reflected in ecophysiological traits remains understudied. We studied 600 individuals across 40 Himalayan herb species found in desert, steppe, alpine and subnival habitats, spanning 3000-5400 m elevation. Marcescence was observed in 37 of the 40 species evaluated, with 57% of the sampled individuals displaying dead phytomass, indicating the widespread nature of this phenomenon in Himalayan ecosystems. Environment and plant traits emerged as significant factors influencing the amount of dead-standing biomass. These findings remained robust after accounting for intraspecific variation and phylogenetic inertia. Desert and steppe species exhibited greater marcescent biomass, characterized by 10-fold more dead stem biomass than alpine and subnival plants. In contrast, the proportion of dead phytomass increased with elevation due to increased dead leaf fraction. Taller desert species with heavily lignified stems and limited nitrogen and phosphorus content had high levels of stem marcescence, which not only may aid litter photodegradation and nutrient recycling but also deter herbivory and promote seed dispersal (tumbleweed). Conversely, slow-growing alpine and subnival plants with higher water-use efficiency, foliar C:N ratios and parenchymatic storage tissue rich in mobile carbohydrates had a high proportion of marcescent leaves, which may aid survival in these resource-limited environments by providing delayed nutrients through moisture-conserving mulch that also provides insulation and protection from frost. This study provides new insights into the complex interplay of habitat, seasonality and plant traits in dead phytomass retention in Himalayan plants. Marcescence is prevalent in resource-conservative species in highly seasonal, resource-limited habitats and may significantly shape the functioning and biodiversity of Himalayan ecosystems.Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Ecological significance of marcescence in Himalayan plants: Why is standing dead phytomass more important in demanding, resource-limited environments?

Popis výsledku anglicky

Understanding mechanisms allowing plants to thrive in challenging conditions is critical for predicting their responses to global environmental change. An often overlooked ecological adaptation is marcescence, where leaves and stems are retained beyond their typical shedding time, with implications for nutrient recycling and carbon sequestration. Marcescence can be expected in plants with conservative resource-use strategies, especially in environments with limited resources and marked seasonality, such as deserts and alpine regions. However, the extent to which marcescence occurs in different taxa across different habitats and its relationship to seasonality and plant functioning as reflected in ecophysiological traits remains understudied. We studied 600 individuals across 40 Himalayan herb species found in desert, steppe, alpine and subnival habitats, spanning 3000-5400 m elevation. Marcescence was observed in 37 of the 40 species evaluated, with 57% of the sampled individuals displaying dead phytomass, indicating the widespread nature of this phenomenon in Himalayan ecosystems. Environment and plant traits emerged as significant factors influencing the amount of dead-standing biomass. These findings remained robust after accounting for intraspecific variation and phylogenetic inertia. Desert and steppe species exhibited greater marcescent biomass, characterized by 10-fold more dead stem biomass than alpine and subnival plants. In contrast, the proportion of dead phytomass increased with elevation due to increased dead leaf fraction. Taller desert species with heavily lignified stems and limited nitrogen and phosphorus content had high levels of stem marcescence, which not only may aid litter photodegradation and nutrient recycling but also deter herbivory and promote seed dispersal (tumbleweed). Conversely, slow-growing alpine and subnival plants with higher water-use efficiency, foliar C:N ratios and parenchymatic storage tissue rich in mobile carbohydrates had a high proportion of marcescent leaves, which may aid survival in these resource-limited environments by providing delayed nutrients through moisture-conserving mulch that also provides insulation and protection from frost. This study provides new insights into the complex interplay of habitat, seasonality and plant traits in dead phytomass retention in Himalayan plants. Marcescence is prevalent in resource-conservative species in highly seasonal, resource-limited habitats and may significantly shape the functioning and biodiversity of Himalayan ecosystems.Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10618 - Ecology

Projekt

<a href="/cs/project/GA21-26883S" target="_blank" >GA21-26883S: Jak globální oteplování ovlivňuje diverzitu a produktivitu rostlin v Himálajích? Kombinace terénních měření s dálkovým průzkumem Země</a><br>

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2024

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Functional Ecology

ISSN

0269-8463

e-ISSN

1365-2435

Svazek periodika

38

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

4

Stát vydavatele periodika

US - Spojené státy americké

Počet stran výsledku

13

Strana od-do

942-954

Kód UT WoS článku

001153663000001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85183846582