The Zamiaceae are often considered 'living fossils', but a close study of how they have evolved over millions of years can give a glimpse into the lives of past plants.
Tag - ecophysiology
Fi Gennu
Embracing the variability within a single plant species: how and why we need to study it
Scientists present 28 recommendations for studying plant intraspecific trait variation.
Juniper Kiss
The importance of quantitative trait differentiation in habitat restoration
Successful restoration of habitats relies on the sourcing of seed appropriate to the restoration environment. The use of non-adapted genotypes can compromise the long-term success of restoration programmes if fitness of...
William Salter
Job-sharing by the barley cuticle
In addition to preventing water loss, plant cuticles must also regulate nutrient loss, leaching. The eceriferum mutants in Hordeum vulgare (barley) potentially influence these functions by altering epicuticular wax...
Liam Elliott
Differences in Protea Traits Add up to Explain Differences in Fitness
It's the differences in individuals that make one Protea more successful than another.
Alex Assiry
Invaders and Natives show different variability in Hawaii
Native and invading plants vary differently in leaf shape in response to climate. Curiously, sometimes the native plants are more acquisitive than the invaders.
Contributions of microenvironmental variation to population persistence under climate change
The environment can vary at small spatial scales, so small that neighbouring plants in a natural population can grow with different resource levels and experience different degrees of competition. This fine-grained...
Consider alternative designs and trait integration level for better ecosystem analysis
To fully understand how an ecosystem fits together, consider how alternate designs may achieve the same end.
Erin Zimmerman
Rising tides bring rising salinity to coastal plants, but will they cope?
Rising sea levels mean increased salinity for plants on the shore, but how well do coastal plants cope with salt? New research says they're surprisingly bad at it.
Alun Salt
Remember the dry times: functional legacies of drought in trees
William Hammond, on an increasing threat to trees in the USA and elsewhere - drought and the embolisms it causes.
William Hammond
Growing after attack: what predicts tree responses to herbivores?
Trees can face significant threats from herbivores, particularly ones that defoliate (i.e. eat leaves and reduce leaf area). After being attacked by defoliators, trees can respond by changing their growth patterns and...
Joseph Stinziano
Ecophysiology of four co-occurring Lycophyte species: an investigation of functional convergence
Modern clubmosses (Lycophytes) are a vestige of their gargantuan carboniferous ancestors that dominated the paleoflora flora for millions of years. The group has a broad global distribution ranging from tundra to...
AoBPLANTS
Aridity-related stomatal differences in a South African shrub
Plants in arid environments often have predictably different phenotypes than those in moist environments. Within species, such trait–environment associations could indicate local adaptation, yet supporting evidence is...
botanyone
Hydathode trichomes in parasitic Orobanchaceae
This study provides the first evidence for the physiological role of the hydathode trichomes in active water secretion in the rhinanthoid Orobanchaceae.
