Seedling establishment is a crucial bottleneck in plant population dynamics, but seedlings don’t behave the same way fully-grown trees do.
Continue reading Living on the edge of fragmented forests: distance, insects and fungi impact plant traits
There are several emerging generalizations in invasion biology, but often the factors determining invasiveness are group-specific. Similarly to certain other plant families, Araceae species (arums or aroids) that have large native ranges and that have been widely introduced are more likely to become invasive. What is unique to the family is the great diversity of growth forms, some of which are more likely to become invasive than others. In a recent study published in AoB PLANTS, Moodley et al. identify nine lineages in the family that have a greater tendency to invasiveness (including the duckweed lineage, as well as the...
Continue reading A global assessment of a large monocot family highlights the need for group-specific analyses of invasiveness
Leaf size is extremely variable among species and the reasons for this are still not fully understood. Milla & Reich analyse how leaf size reduction with increasing altitude is modulated by variation in traits that are functionally related to leaf size, and by phylogenetic relatedness. Using structural equation modelling, they find that trait interactions are more important than phylogeny or environmental differences among sites when accounting for variations in leaf size.
Continue reading Leaf size and altitudeBotany One is a blog run by the Annals of Botany Company, a non-profit educational charity.
In addition to Botany One, the company currently publishes three journals, the Annals of Botany, AoB PLANTS, and in silico Plants.
Feedback