{"title":"Induced resistance of plants reduces their negative soil-legacy effects on natives but not on naturalized aliens","authors":"Duo Chen, Mallory Decker, Ekaterina Mamonova, Marc Stift, Mark van Kleunen","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70410","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1365-2745.70410","url":null,"abstract":"<p>\u0000 \u0000 </p>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"114 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1365-2745.70410","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148650547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In many historically fire‐dependent ecosystems, the abundance of newly emerged seedlings increases after fire. Greater post‐fire seedling recruitment has been widely attributed to environmental conditions that promote seedling emergence (i.e. seeds germinate and exhibit above‐ground growth) and post‐emergence survival. However, fire increases flowering and seed production in many species making it difficult to assess the extent to which post‐fire seedling abundance reflects microsite conditions versus seed availability. Experimental manipulation of seed inputs can elucidate how seed availability versus microsite conditions contribute to post‐fire seedling abundance. We experimentally manipulated years since fire across 36 patches of remnant tallgrass prairie within an agriculturally fragmented 6400 ha landscape in western Minnesota (USA). Over 2 years, we sowed 10,962 Echinacea angustifolia (Asteraceae) seeds across 84 randomly placed transects. We then located and tracked the 974 newly emerged seedlings to evaluate how time since fire influenced seedling emergence and survival after controlling for variation in seed inputs. We also evaluated the association between six environmental covariates and seedling emergence and survival. Fire influenced both seedling emergence and survival between spring emergence and late summer. Seedlings emerged from approximately 1% of all seeds sown prior to experimental burns while seeds sown 1 year after experimental burns emerged at more than 10 times this rate. Emergence rates then declined as years since fire increased. Sowing seeds at high densities reduced rates of seedling emergence but nonetheless increased overall seedling abundance. Increases in litter depth were associated with reduced emergence. Meanwhile, the probability that seedlings survived to late summer was greatest 0 or 1 years after fire. The probability of seedling survival decreased with litter depth and increased with the local density of conspecific seedlings. Synthesis . Our experiment demonstrates that fire enhances seedling recruitment by generating microsite conditions that favour seedling emergence and survival. Nevertheless, seedling abundance also increased with seed inputs, suggesting that both seed availability and microsite conditions influence post‐fire seedling recruitment. Experiments like ours that explicitly discriminate between seed‐ and microsite‐limitation of recruitment are crucial for revealing processes that influence plant demographic responses to fire in many historically fire‐dependent ecosystems.
{"title":"Experimental evidence that seed availability and microsite conditions influence post‐fire seedling recruitment","authors":"Jared J. Beck, Stuart Wagenius","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70406","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70406","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> In many historically fire‐dependent ecosystems, the abundance of newly emerged seedlings increases after fire. Greater post‐fire seedling recruitment has been widely attributed to environmental conditions that promote seedling emergence (i.e. seeds germinate and exhibit above‐ground growth) and post‐emergence survival. However, fire increases flowering and seed production in many species making it difficult to assess the extent to which post‐fire seedling abundance reflects microsite conditions versus seed availability. Experimental manipulation of seed inputs can elucidate how seed availability versus microsite conditions contribute to post‐fire seedling abundance. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> We experimentally manipulated years since fire across 36 patches of remnant tallgrass prairie within an agriculturally fragmented 6400 ha landscape in western Minnesota (USA). Over 2 years, we sowed 10,962 <jats:italic>Echinacea angustifolia</jats:italic> (Asteraceae) seeds across 84 randomly placed transects. We then located and tracked the 974 newly emerged seedlings to evaluate how time since fire influenced seedling emergence and survival after controlling for variation in seed inputs. We also evaluated the association between six environmental covariates and seedling emergence and survival. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> Fire influenced both seedling emergence and survival between spring emergence and late summer. Seedlings emerged from approximately 1% of all seeds sown prior to experimental burns while seeds sown 1 year after experimental burns emerged at more than 10 times this rate. Emergence rates then declined as years since fire increased. Sowing seeds at high densities reduced rates of seedling emergence but nonetheless increased overall seedling abundance. Increases in litter depth were associated with reduced emergence. Meanwhile, the probability that seedlings survived to late summer was greatest 0 or 1 years after fire. The probability of seedling survival decreased with litter depth and increased with the local density of conspecific seedlings. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic> . Our experiment demonstrates that fire enhances seedling recruitment by generating microsite conditions that favour seedling emergence and survival. Nevertheless, seedling abundance also increased with seed inputs, suggesting that both seed availability and microsite conditions influence post‐fire seedling recruitment. Experiments like ours that explicitly discriminate between seed‐ and microsite‐limitation of recruitment are crucial for revealing processes that influence plant demographic responses to fire in many historically fire‐dependent ecosystems. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148588965","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christian Ammer, Peter Schall, Dominik Mütze, Dustin Weber, Kerstin Pierick
In even‐aged tree stands, asymmetric competition for light usually leads to clear dominance structures. However, it is unclear whether the differences in individual tree size develop gradually or manifest themselves very early on, that is in the year of germination, and whether formerly suppressed trees can rise in rank while dominant trees fall. Using two experimental plots in which European beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) seeds were sown under the canopy of mature Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) trees in 1997, we studied the survival and height development of 2214 numbered seedlings on 324 subplots (0.5 m 2 in size) over a period of more than 25 years. We found that the survival probability of the tallest individuals at their seed site in the year of germination was significantly higher than that of smaller plants. We further found that these early dominance structures became increasingly consolidated over the years, reducing the mortality risk of the dominant trees. In a supplementary seed experiment, we showed that the height growth and biomass production of seedlings achieved in the first vegetation period depended largely on seed mass. Synthesis . Our study illustrates how intense intraspecific competition processes operate at very early developmental stages among even‐aged tree cohorts, following the general pattern of self‐thinning. We showed that the underlying dominance structures develop surprisingly early and that they persist. Our study also clearly indicates that dominance reversal, that is the fall of formerly dominant trees to lower ranks and the rise of formerly suppressed trees to the dominant layer, occurs infrequently, at least in the first 25 years of an even‐aged cohort.
{"title":"Get out of the starting block quickly—Small initial differences in seed and seedling size affect tree survival and growth over 25 years","authors":"Christian Ammer, Peter Schall, Dominik Mütze, Dustin Weber, Kerstin Pierick","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70407","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70407","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> In even‐aged tree stands, asymmetric competition for light usually leads to clear dominance structures. However, it is unclear whether the differences in individual tree size develop gradually or manifest themselves very early on, that is in the year of germination, and whether formerly suppressed trees can rise in rank while dominant trees fall. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> Using two experimental plots in which European beech ( <jats:italic>Fagus sylvatica</jats:italic> ) seeds were sown under the canopy of mature Norway spruce ( <jats:italic>Picea abies</jats:italic> ) trees in 1997, we studied the survival and height development of 2214 numbered seedlings on 324 subplots (0.5 m <jats:sup>2</jats:sup> in size) over a period of more than 25 years. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> We found that the survival probability of the tallest individuals at their seed site in the year of germination was significantly higher than that of smaller plants. We further found that these early dominance structures became increasingly consolidated over the years, reducing the mortality risk of the dominant trees. In a supplementary seed experiment, we showed that the height growth and biomass production of seedlings achieved in the first vegetation period depended largely on seed mass. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic> . Our study illustrates how intense intraspecific competition processes operate at very early developmental stages among even‐aged tree cohorts, following the general pattern of self‐thinning. We showed that the underlying dominance structures develop surprisingly early and that they persist. Our study also clearly indicates that dominance reversal, that is the fall of formerly dominant trees to lower ranks and the rise of formerly suppressed trees to the dominant layer, occurs infrequently, at least in the first 25 years of an even‐aged cohort. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148589032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yong‐Jiao Zhou, Monique Weemstra, Frank Sterck, Qiu‐Rui Ning, Han Shi, Guang‐You Hao
Functional traits are widely used to explain plant performance including growth rate; however, how above‐ and below‐ground traits coordinate in affecting resource acquisition, transportation and utilization that jointly determine long‐term tree growth remains understudied. In a common garden, we quantified stem radial growth rates based on tree‐ring analyses and measured 24 economic and hydraulic traits of leaves, stems, coarse roots and fine roots in 33 temperate broad‐leaved tree species that co‐occur in forests of Northeast China. Beyond testing individual trait–growth relationships, trait network and whole‐plant economics spectrum (PES) analyses were used to uncover the physiological mechanisms underlying growth rate differences across tree species. Across species, growth rate correlated positively with multiple functional traits: leaf photosynthetic rate ( Aa ), leaf mass per area (LMA), fine‐root average diameter (AD) and hydraulic conductance in both above‐ and below‐ground organs. Notably, the traits reflecting carbon assimilation and hydraulic efficiency consistently emerged as ‘hub traits’ with high connectivity in the trait networks at both organ and whole‐plant levels, and they also tended to show stronger linear correlations with growth rate. Our results revealed a PES ranging from an acquisitive strategy represented by higher carbon assimilation rate, more efficient water transport across organs, thicker fine roots and lower wood tissue investment, associated with fast tree growth, to a conservative strategy represented by a combination of opposite trait values, associated with slow growth. Synthesis . Our findings highlight the predictive roles of individual traits related to carbon acquisition, water transportation, soil resource capture and tissue investment in growth. The trait network and spectrum analyses further present a more integrative framework for explaining interspecific variation in tree growth rate, which provides novel and comprehensive insights into the mechanistic understanding and prediction of tree productivity at the species level from a trait‐based perspective.
{"title":"Trait networks and the whole‐plant economics spectrum: Uncovering key determinants of growth rate across 33 temperate tree species","authors":"Yong‐Jiao Zhou, Monique Weemstra, Frank Sterck, Qiu‐Rui Ning, Han Shi, Guang‐You Hao","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70403","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> Functional traits are widely used to explain plant performance including growth rate; however, how above‐ and below‐ground traits coordinate in affecting resource acquisition, transportation and utilization that jointly determine long‐term tree growth remains understudied. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> In a common garden, we quantified stem radial growth rates based on tree‐ring analyses and measured 24 economic and hydraulic traits of leaves, stems, coarse roots and fine roots in 33 temperate broad‐leaved tree species that co‐occur in forests of Northeast China. Beyond testing individual trait–growth relationships, trait network and whole‐plant economics spectrum (PES) analyses were used to uncover the physiological mechanisms underlying growth rate differences across tree species. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> Across species, growth rate correlated positively with multiple functional traits: leaf photosynthetic rate ( <jats:italic>A</jats:italic> <jats:sub>a</jats:sub> ), leaf mass per area (LMA), fine‐root average diameter (AD) and hydraulic conductance in both above‐ and below‐ground organs. Notably, the traits reflecting carbon assimilation and hydraulic efficiency consistently emerged as ‘hub traits’ with high connectivity in the trait networks at both organ and whole‐plant levels, and they also tended to show stronger linear correlations with growth rate. Our results revealed a PES ranging from an acquisitive strategy represented by higher carbon assimilation rate, more efficient water transport across organs, thicker fine roots and lower wood tissue investment, associated with fast tree growth, to a conservative strategy represented by a combination of opposite trait values, associated with slow growth. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic> . Our findings highlight the predictive roles of individual traits related to carbon acquisition, water transportation, soil resource capture and tissue investment in growth. The trait network and spectrum analyses further present a more integrative framework for explaining interspecific variation in tree growth rate, which provides novel and comprehensive insights into the mechanistic understanding and prediction of tree productivity at the species level from a trait‐based perspective. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"54 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148582239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caiyue Yang, Yani Meng, Scott J. Meiners, Ming Zhao, Yuhao Zhao, Shiyu Ma, Shao‐Peng Li
As succession proceeds, theory predicts increasingly asynchronous dynamics among species, thereby enhancing community temporal stability. However, recent studies often report decreased species asynchrony in older communities, and it remains unclear whether these successional changes in asynchrony reflect ecological processes or statistical mechanisms. Using a 60‐year vegetation time series from the Buell–Small Succession Study, we quantified temporal changes in species asynchrony during old‐field succession. We then decomposed species asynchrony into compensatory effects ( CPE ) and statistical‐averaging effects ( SAE ) to assess the relative importance of these components. We further examined how CPE and SAE are related to species richness and whether these relationships shift through time. We show that the long‐term decline in species asynchrony over succession was jointly explained by decreases in both CPE and SAE . SAE consistently accounted for a larger proportion of species asynchrony, but CPE declined more strongly over succession and therefore contributed more to the overall decline in species asynchrony. We further show that SAE , but not CPE , consistently increased with species richness at all stages, indicating that losses of diversity in later successional stages were associated with lower SAE . Consequently, both the direct decline in CPE and the indirect decline in SAE via decreased richness contributed to the observed decrease in species asynchrony over succession. Synthesis . Our results provide clear evidence that both the compensatory dynamics and statistical‐averaging mechanisms contribute to long‐term decreases in species asynchrony during succession, and that the stabilizing role of diversity is largely linked to statistical averaging. These insights refine classical views of successional dynamics and deepen our understanding of how biodiversity–stability relationships unfold over time.
{"title":"Compensatory and statistical‐averaging effects jointly explain the decrease in species asynchrony over 60 years of succession","authors":"Caiyue Yang, Yani Meng, Scott J. Meiners, Ming Zhao, Yuhao Zhao, Shiyu Ma, Shao‐Peng Li","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70405","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70405","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> As succession proceeds, theory predicts increasingly asynchronous dynamics among species, thereby enhancing community temporal stability. However, recent studies often report decreased species asynchrony in older communities, and it remains unclear whether these successional changes in asynchrony reflect ecological processes or statistical mechanisms. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> Using a 60‐year vegetation time series from the Buell–Small Succession Study, we quantified temporal changes in species asynchrony during old‐field succession. We then decomposed species asynchrony into compensatory effects ( <jats:italic>CPE</jats:italic> ) and statistical‐averaging effects ( <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> ) to assess the relative importance of these components. We further examined how <jats:italic>CPE</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> are related to species richness and whether these relationships shift through time. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> We show that the long‐term decline in species asynchrony over succession was jointly explained by decreases in both <jats:italic>CPE</jats:italic> and <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> . <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> consistently accounted for a larger proportion of species asynchrony, but <jats:italic>CPE</jats:italic> declined more strongly over succession and therefore contributed more to the overall decline in species asynchrony. We further show that <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> , but not <jats:italic>CPE</jats:italic> , consistently increased with species richness at all stages, indicating that losses of diversity in later successional stages were associated with lower <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> . Consequently, both the direct decline in <jats:italic>CPE</jats:italic> and the indirect decline in <jats:italic>SAE</jats:italic> via decreased richness contributed to the observed decrease in species asynchrony over succession. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic> . Our results provide clear evidence that both the compensatory dynamics and statistical‐averaging mechanisms contribute to long‐term decreases in species asynchrony during succession, and that the stabilizing role of diversity is largely linked to statistical averaging. These insights refine classical views of successional dynamics and deepen our understanding of how biodiversity–stability relationships unfold over time. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"53 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148475826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ramona‐Elena Irimia, Madalin Parepa, Nicole Sebesta, Elena Barni, Elisa Giaccone, Yaolin Guo, Sophie Karrenberg, Christina L. Richards, Oliver Bossdorf
Successful large‐scale biological invasions require introduced species to either rapidly adapt to a broad range of—partly novel—environmental conditions, or to possess a high level of phenotypic plasticity. Replicated common garden experiments across the introduced range provide a powerful framework to investigate these complementary mechanisms. To better understand population differentiation, adaptation and plasticity of invasive Japanese knotweed ( Reynoutria japonica ) in Europe, we compared the performance of knotweed plants from 46 European populations, collected across a 2000 km latitudinal transect, in three common gardens with contrasting climatic conditions, one at the southern edge, one in the centre and one at the northern edge of the species' European distribution. The plants exhibited strong phenotypic plasticity across the three gardens, with a more acquisitive growth strategy in the southern garden, and a more conservative strategy and change of architecture in the climatically unfavourable north. Although we observed phenotypic selection on several leaf traits, with some differences in selection between the gardens, we found little evidence for population differentiation or local adaptation, that is variation in plant performance was not negatively related to climate or geographic distance. Greater plasticity in leaf thickness across gardens was linked to the production of fewer but larger shoots, indicating a trade‐off between growth and clonal expansion. In addition, populations from higher latitudes and regions with greater inter‐annual temperature variability displayed increased plasticity in shoot volume and shrubbiness, but reduced plasticity in shoot number. Synthesis . Our results suggest that local adaptation has not played a key role in the success of Japanese knotweed in Europe. Instead, its high overall phenotypic plasticity (‘general purpose genotype’), as well as evolutionary fine‐tuning of plasticity, may have contributed to the species' invasion success across a broad range of environments.
{"title":"Phenotypic plasticity of invasive knotweed across Europe: A distributed common garden experiment","authors":"Ramona‐Elena Irimia, Madalin Parepa, Nicole Sebesta, Elena Barni, Elisa Giaccone, Yaolin Guo, Sophie Karrenberg, Christina L. Richards, Oliver Bossdorf","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70393","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70393","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> Successful large‐scale biological invasions require introduced species to either rapidly adapt to a broad range of—partly novel—environmental conditions, or to possess a high level of phenotypic plasticity. Replicated common garden experiments across the introduced range provide a powerful framework to investigate these complementary mechanisms. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> To better understand population differentiation, adaptation and plasticity of invasive Japanese knotweed ( <jats:italic>Reynoutria japonica</jats:italic> ) in Europe, we compared the performance of knotweed plants from 46 European populations, collected across a 2000 km latitudinal transect, in three common gardens with contrasting climatic conditions, one at the southern edge, one in the centre and one at the northern edge of the species' European distribution. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> The plants exhibited strong phenotypic plasticity across the three gardens, with a more acquisitive growth strategy in the southern garden, and a more conservative strategy and change of architecture in the climatically unfavourable north. Although we observed phenotypic selection on several leaf traits, with some differences in selection between the gardens, we found little evidence for population differentiation or local adaptation, that is variation in plant performance was not negatively related to climate or geographic distance. Greater plasticity in leaf thickness across gardens was linked to the production of fewer but larger shoots, indicating a trade‐off between growth and clonal expansion. In addition, populations from higher latitudes and regions with greater inter‐annual temperature variability displayed increased plasticity in shoot volume and shrubbiness, but reduced plasticity in shoot number. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic> . Our results suggest that local adaptation has not played a key role in the success of Japanese knotweed in Europe. Instead, its high overall phenotypic plasticity (‘general purpose genotype’), as well as evolutionary fine‐tuning of plasticity, may have contributed to the species' invasion success across a broad range of environments. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148476221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carbon constitutes the biochemical basis of plant survival and evolution. Plant trait‐based economic frameworks have revealed divergent strategic trade‐offs in leaves (leaf economics spectrum, LES) and roots (root economics space, RES). However, how carbon molecular compounds coordinate with organ‐specific economic strategies and whether they follow similar biochemical foundations remain unknown. We employed the solid‐state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance to quantify key carbon functional groups in leaves and roots across 13 coexisting subtropical tree species and assess their coordination with LES and RES. The results showed contrasting coordination of carbon traits with economic strategies in leaves and roots. Specifically, leaves with the acquisitive strategy prioritized physiologically active and nitrogen‐rich carbon over structural carbohydrates used for longevity maintenance, while defence carbon compounds decoupled from the LES. However, roots exhibited a primary trade‐off where bioactive carbon aligned against defence compounds along the conservation gradient. Orthogonally, root structural carbohydrate proportions traded off against carbon molecular diversity, aligning to the root collaboration gradient from ‘do‐it‐yourself’ soil exploration to collaboration with mycorrhizal fungi. Synthesis. These findings highlight divergent carbon bases in shaping above‐ and below‐ground multidimensional economics trait space, providing new mechanistic insights into whole‐plant strategic trade‐offs that govern plant adaptations and species coexistence in heterogeneous environments.
{"title":"Contrasting molecular‐level carbon traits underlying leaf and root economic strategies in a subtropical forest","authors":"Guangru Wang, Han Yang, Peipei Zhang, Jipeng Wang, Dungang Wang, Huajun Yin","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70404","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70404","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> Carbon constitutes the biochemical basis of plant survival and evolution. Plant trait‐based economic frameworks have revealed divergent strategic trade‐offs in leaves (leaf economics spectrum, LES) and roots (root economics space, RES). However, how carbon molecular compounds coordinate with organ‐specific economic strategies and whether they follow similar biochemical foundations remain unknown. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> We employed the solid‐state <jats:sup>13</jats:sup> C nuclear magnetic resonance to quantify key carbon functional groups in leaves and roots across 13 coexisting subtropical tree species and assess their coordination with LES and RES. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> The results showed contrasting coordination of carbon traits with economic strategies in leaves and roots. Specifically, leaves with the acquisitive strategy prioritized physiologically active and nitrogen‐rich carbon over structural carbohydrates used for longevity maintenance, while defence carbon compounds decoupled from the LES. However, roots exhibited a primary trade‐off where bioactive carbon aligned against defence compounds along the conservation gradient. Orthogonally, root structural carbohydrate proportions traded off against carbon molecular diversity, aligning to the root collaboration gradient from ‘do‐it‐yourself’ soil exploration to collaboration with mycorrhizal fungi. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis.</jats:italic> These findings highlight divergent carbon bases in shaping above‐ and below‐ground multidimensional economics trait space, providing new mechanistic insights into whole‐plant strategic trade‐offs that govern plant adaptations and species coexistence in heterogeneous environments. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"254 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148460035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Some invasive plant species rapidly develop latitudinal patterns of growth and defence against herbivores in their introduced ranges, either parallel to or different from those of co‐occurring native plant species. However, how defences against multiple enemies relate to latitude and environmental drivers for co‐occurring native and invasive plant species remains uncertain. We assessed latitudinal patterns in growth and defences against multiple enemies for the invasive species Alternanthera philoxeroides and its native congener A. sessilis in China, with surveys of natural populations and a common garden experiment with ~50 populations. We explored how plant growth and defences were associated with source site environments. In natural populations, foliar defoliation and pathogen infection peaked at intermediate latitude, while herbivore richness and abundance, richness of overall rhizosphere fungi and pathogens decreased with latitude for both species. In the common garden, native species' growth decreased with source population latitude, while native plant resistance against the dominant insect herbivore and root‐knot nematode parasite increased with source latitude. Invasive species' growth and defences were unrelated to source population latitude. Resistance to a common foliar fungal pathogen did not vary with source population latitude for either species. Traits of native plants were consistent with direct effects of climate while those of invasive plants only reflected indirect effects. Synt hesis. The results underscore the latitudinal variability of biotic interactions across organisms and highlight how a species' growth and defence across latitude are not influenced by herbivores alone, but a suite of enemies and abiotic conditions.
{"title":"Latitudinal patterns in growth and defence against multiple enemies of an invasive species and its native congener","authors":"Biao Zhu, Yifan He, Lunlun Gao, Chunqiang Wei, Hao Xu, Xiaoyan Liu, Jiatao Xie, Zhijie Zhang, Joshua S. Lynn, Evan Siemann, Xinmin Lu","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70399","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70399","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> Some invasive plant species rapidly develop latitudinal patterns of growth and defence against herbivores in their introduced ranges, either parallel to or different from those of co‐occurring native plant species. However, how defences against multiple enemies relate to latitude and environmental drivers for co‐occurring native and invasive plant species remains uncertain. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> We assessed latitudinal patterns in growth and defences against multiple enemies for the invasive species <jats:italic>Alternanthera philoxeroides</jats:italic> and its native congener <jats:italic>A. sessilis</jats:italic> in China, with surveys of natural populations and a common garden experiment with ~50 populations. We explored how plant growth and defences were associated with source site environments. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> In natural populations, foliar defoliation and pathogen infection peaked at intermediate latitude, while herbivore richness and abundance, richness of overall rhizosphere fungi and pathogens decreased with latitude for both species. In the common garden, native species' growth decreased with source population latitude, while native plant resistance against the dominant insect herbivore and root‐knot nematode parasite increased with source latitude. Invasive species' growth and defences were unrelated to source population latitude. Resistance to a common foliar fungal pathogen did not vary with source population latitude for either species. Traits of native plants were consistent with direct effects of climate while those of invasive plants only reflected indirect effects. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synt</jats:italic> hesis. The results underscore the latitudinal variability of biotic interactions across organisms and highlight how a species' growth and defence across latitude are not influenced by herbivores alone, but a suite of enemies and abiotic conditions. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148440792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hongbiao Zi, Xin Jing, Hao Wang, Bai Yue, Huijie Gu, Zhenhua Zhang, Jin‐Sheng He
The grazing optimization hypothesis suggests that moderate herbivory can stimulate plant growth and increase productivity, a phenomenon referred to as overcompensation. However, most evidence for this response is based on above‐ground responses, while below‐ground responses remain uncertain. Below‐ground productivity accounts for more than half of total grassland productivity, making it essential to assess whole‐plant responses. We conducted a 3‐year yak grazing‐intensity experiment, manipulating four levels of herbivory, and quantified compensation indices for both above‐ground (ANPP) and below‐ground (BNPP) net primary productivity relative to ungrazed controls. We complemented this with a controlled simulated‐grazing experiment to isolate the effects of defoliation, trampling and excrement on these compensation responses. Across light, moderate and heavy grazing treatments, ANPP increased by 28%–43% relative to ungrazed controls, suggesting clear overcompensation in above‐ground production. In contrast, BNPP showed little response to grazing intensity and exhibited only limited compensatory responses, such that total net primary productivity (NPP) showed only weak overcompensation. Over time, the magnitude of ANPP overcompensation declined, whereas no temporal attenuation was detected for BNPP or total NPP. Results from the simulated‐grazing experiment further showed that defoliation alone increased ANPP, while trampling and excreta return had negligible effects on ANPP, BNPP or their associated compensation indices. Synthesis . Our findings suggest that reliance on aboveground‐only measurements systematically overestimates the degree of overcompensation in grazed grasslands, underscoring the necessity of whole‐plant assessments for accurately evaluating grassland productivity.
{"title":"Above‐ground and below‐ground productivity shows divergent compensatory responses to grazing in an alpine grassland","authors":"Hongbiao Zi, Xin Jing, Hao Wang, Bai Yue, Huijie Gu, Zhenhua Zhang, Jin‐Sheng He","doi":"10.1111/1365-2745.70401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70401","url":null,"abstract":"<jats:list> <jats:list-item> The grazing optimization hypothesis suggests that moderate herbivory can stimulate plant growth and increase productivity, a phenomenon referred to as overcompensation. However, most evidence for this response is based on above‐ground responses, while below‐ground responses remain uncertain. Below‐ground productivity accounts for more than half of total grassland productivity, making it essential to assess whole‐plant responses. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> We conducted a 3‐year yak grazing‐intensity experiment, manipulating four levels of herbivory, and quantified compensation indices for both above‐ground (ANPP) and below‐ground (BNPP) net primary productivity relative to ungrazed controls. We complemented this with a controlled simulated‐grazing experiment to isolate the effects of defoliation, trampling and excrement on these compensation responses. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> Across light, moderate and heavy grazing treatments, ANPP increased by 28%–43% relative to ungrazed controls, suggesting clear overcompensation in above‐ground production. In contrast, BNPP showed little response to grazing intensity and exhibited only limited compensatory responses, such that total net primary productivity (NPP) showed only weak overcompensation. Over time, the magnitude of ANPP overcompensation declined, whereas no temporal attenuation was detected for BNPP or total NPP. Results from the simulated‐grazing experiment further showed that defoliation alone increased ANPP, while trampling and excreta return had negligible effects on ANPP, BNPP or their associated compensation indices. </jats:list-item> <jats:list-item> <jats:italic>Synthesis</jats:italic> . Our findings suggest that reliance on aboveground‐only measurements systematically overestimates the degree of overcompensation in grazed grasslands, underscoring the necessity of whole‐plant assessments for accurately evaluating grassland productivity. </jats:list-item> </jats:list>","PeriodicalId":191,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Ecology","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2026-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148432110","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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