TY  - JOUR
A1  - Wagner, Viktoria
A1  - Antunes, Pedro M.
A1  - Ristow, Michael
A1  - Lechner, Ute
A1  - Hensen, Isabell
T1  - Prevailing negative soil biota effect and no evidence for local adaptation in a widespread eurasian grass
JF  - PLoS one
N2  - Background: Soil biota effects are increasingly accepted as an important driver of the abundance and distribution of plants. While biogeographical studies on alien invasive plant species have indicated coevolution with soil biota in their native distribution range, it is unknown whether adaptation to soil biota varies among populations within the native distribution range. The question of local adaptation between plants and their soil biota has important implications for conservation of biodiversity and may justify the use of seed material from local provenances in restoration campaigns.
 Methodology/Principal Findings: We studied soil biota effects in ten populations of the steppe grass Stipa capillata from two distinct regions, Europe and Asia. We tested for local adaptation at two different scales, both within (ca. 10-80 km) and between (ca. 3300 km) regions, using a reciprocal inoculation experiment in the greenhouse for nine months. Generally, negative soil biota effects were consistent. However, we did not find evidence for local adaptation: both within and between regions, growth of plants in their 'home soil' was not significantly larger relative to that in soil from other, more distant, populations.
 Conclusions/Significance: Our study suggests that negative soil biota effects can prevail in different parts of a plant species' range. Absence of local adaptation points to the possibility of similar rhizosphere biota composition across populations and regions, sufficient gene flow to prevent coevolution, selection in favor of plasticity, or functional redundancy among different soil biota. From the point of view of plant - soil biota interactions, our findings indicate that the current practice of using seeds exclusively from local provenances in ecosystem restoration campaigns may not be justified.
Y1  - 2011
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017580
SN  - 1932-6203
VL  - 6
IS  - 3
PB  - PLoS
CY  - San Fransisco
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Sporbert, Maria
A1  - Jakubka, Desiree
A1  - Bucher, Solveig Franziska
A1  - Hensen, Isabell
A1  - Freiberg, Martin
A1  - Heubach, Katja
A1  - König, Andreas
A1  - Nordt, Birgit
A1  - Plos, Carolin
A1  - Blinova, Ilona
A1  - Bonn, Aletta
A1  - Knickmann, Barbara
A1  - Koubek, Tomáš
A1  - Linstädter, Anja
A1  - Mašková, Tereza
A1  - Primack, Richard B.
A1  - Rosche, Christoph
A1  - Shah, Manzoor A.
A1  - Stevens, Albert-Dieter
A1  - Tielbörger, Katja
A1  - Träger, Sabrina
A1  - Wirth, Christian
A1  - Römermann, Christine
T1  - Functional traits influence patterns in vegetative and reproductive plant phenology - a multi-botanical garden study
JF  - New phytologist
N2  - Phenology has emerged as key indicator of the biological impacts of climate change, yet the role of functional traits constraining variation in herbaceous species' phenology has received little attention. Botanical gardens are ideal places in which to investigate large numbers of species growing under common climate conditions. We ask whether interspecific variation in plant phenology is influenced by differences in functional traits. We recorded onset, end, duration and intensity of initial growth, leafing out, leaf senescence, flowering and fruiting for 212 species across five botanical gardens in Germany. We measured functional traits, including plant height, absolute and specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf carbon and nitrogen content and seed mass and accounted for species' relatedness. Closely related species showed greater similarities in timing of phenological events than expected by chance, but species' traits had a high degree of explanatory power, pointing to paramount importance of species' life-history strategies. Taller plants showed later timing of initial growth, and flowered, fruited and underwent leaf senescence later. Large-leaved species had shorter flowering and fruiting durations. Taller, large-leaved species differ in their phenology and are more competitive than smaller, small-leaved species. We assume climate warming will change plant communities' competitive hierarchies with consequences for biodiversity.
KW  - botanical gardens
KW  - first flowering day
KW  - growing season length
KW  - leaf
KW  - traits
KW  - PhenObs phenological network
KW  - phylogeny
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18345
SN  - 0028-646X
SN  - 1469-8137
VL  - 235
IS  - 6
SP  - 2199
EP  - 2210
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -