Plant physiological changes along an encroachment gradient: an assessment of US Mid-Atlantic serpentine barrens  

作　　者：Nicole A.Havrilchak Jessica L.Schedlbauer 

机构地区：[1]Department of Biology,West Chester University,750 S.Church Street,West Chester,PA 19383,USA

出　　处：《Journal of Plant Ecology》2018年第6期853-865,共13页植物生态学报（英文版）

摘　　要：Aims Serpentine barrens of the Mid-Atlantic United States are globally rare,grass-dominated ecosystems thought to exclude C3 spe-cies and characterized by unique soil composition.However,like many grassland ecosystems globally,these sites are presently facing encroachment by surrounding forest.In this ecosystem,the tendril climbing vine,Smilax rotundifolia,forms dense thickets around bar-rens that typically precede forest encroachment.While numerous factors speculatively initiate and promote encroachment in these systems,few studies have examined photosynthetic responses of serpentine grasses to changes in resource availability initiated by encroachers or physiological ability of encroaching S.rotundifolia to colonize high-light barren environments.We sought to under-stand both environmental and physiological dynamics of encroach-ment along an irradiance gradient in these systems.Methods At three serpentine barren sites in southeastern Pennsylvania,physiological responses of the native grasses Sorghastrum nutans and Schizachyrium scoparium to increased shading by S.rotundi-folia were examined.Additionally,the physiological performance of S.rotundifolia in the forest understory was compared to that in sunlit barrens environments.Light-saturated photosynthesis(A_(sat)),stomatal conductance(g_(s)),instantaneous transpiration efficiency(ITE),maximum efficiency of photosystem II(F_(v)/F_(m)),midday leaf water potential(ψ_(leaf))and specific leaf area(SLA)were measured for all species over the course of the 2014 growing season.Two-way analyses of variance were used to assess changes in these param-eters across growing environments,as well as seasonally for each species.Multiple regression analyses were also performed to inves-tigate the influence of vapor pressure deficit(D)and leaf tempera-ture(T_(leaf))on A_(sat) and ITE.Important Findings Light-saturated photosynthesis was significantly greater in S.rotun-difolia growing in sun than in the shade(P<0.001)and early in the season(P=0.012).Sun S.rotundifolia had up to

关 键 词：ENCROACHMENT PHOTOSYNTHESIS serpentine barren Schizachyrium scoparium Smilax rotundifolia Sorghastrum nutans 

分 类 号：Q94[生物学—植物学]