A meta-analysis of experimental warming effects on woody plant growth and photosynthesis in forests

Increasing field experiments have been conducted in forests to better understand the response of plant growth and photosynthesis to climatic warming. However,it is still unknown whether there is a general pattern in relation to how and to what extent warming impacts woody plants in forests. In this study, a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the warming effects. When temperatures increased between 0.3 and 10 ℃, specific leaf area(SLA) was significantly increased by 5.9%, plant height by 7.8%, biomass by 21.9%, foliar calcium(Ca) and manganese(Mn) concentrations by 20.7% and 39.6% and net photosynthetic rate(Pn) by 9.9%. Enhanced growth and Pn may have a relationship with changing SLA, efficiency of PSⅡ(photosystem Ⅱ), photosynthetic pigment concentrations and foliar nutrients. The results will be useful to understand the underlying mechanisms of forests responding to global warming.

Enhanced allelopathy and competitive ability of invasive plant Solidago canadensis in its introduced range

Aims Why invasive plants are more competitive in their introduced range than native range is still an unanswered question in plant invasion ecology.Here,we used the model invasive plant Solidago canaden-sis to test a hypothesis that enhanced production of allelopathic compounds results in greater competitive ability of invasive plants in the invaded range rather than in the native range.We also exam-ined the degree to which the allelopathy contributes increased com-petitive ability of S.canadensis in the invaded range.Methods We compared allelochemical production by S.canadensis growing in its native area(the USA)and invaded area(China)and also by populations that were collected from the two countries and grown together in a'common garden'greenhouse experiment.We also tested the allelopathic effects of S.canadensis collected from either the USA or China on the germination of Kummerowia striata(a native plant in China).Finally,we conducted a common garden,greenhouse experiment in which K.striata was grown in monocul-ture or with S.canadensis from the USA or China to test the effects of allopathy on plant-plant competition with suitable controls such as adding activated carbon to the soil to absorb the allelochemicals and thereby eliminating any corresponding allopathic effects.Important findings Allelochemical contents(total phenolics,total flavones and total saponins)and allelopathic effects were greater in S.canadensis sampled from China than those from the USA as demonstrated in a field survey and a common garden experiment.Inhibition of K.stri-ata germination using S.canadensis extracts or previously grown in soil was greater using samples from China than from the USA.The competitive ability of S.canadensis against K.striata was also greater for plants originating from China than those from the USA.Allelopathy could explain about 46%of the difference.These find-ings demonstrated that S.canadensis has evolved to be more allelo-pathic and competitive in the introduced range and that allelopathy significantly contributes to increased competitiveness for this inva-sive species.

纬度和土壤微生物对入侵植物加拿大一枝黄花对共同进化的专性食草昆虫抗性的影响

在全球化的背景下,入侵植物再次暴露在来自其原产地的专性食草动物面前的可能性越来越大。然而,入侵植物对曾共同进化的专性食草动物的抗性是否存在纬度趋势以及土壤微生物如何影响入侵植物对这类食草动物的抗性还鲜有研究。我们假设入侵植物加拿大一枝黄花(Solidago canadensis)对其曾共同进化的来自原产地的食草昆虫菊方翅网蝽(Corythucha marmorata)的抗性随纬度的增加而增加,而加拿大一枝黄花的局部根际微生物可以促进加其对菊方翅网蝽的抗性。为了验证上述假设,我们首先通过野外调查和温室实验,研究了菊方翅网蝽在中国加拿大一枝黄花种群中的分布丰度,以及对加拿大一枝黄花造成的危害是否存在纬度分布规律。其次,我们通过温室实验,检测了加拿大一枝黄花的本地根际土壤微生物是否能促进加拿大一枝黄花对菊方翅网蝽的抗性。研究结果表明,菊方翅网蝽在加拿大一枝黄花中的分布密度和对加拿大一枝黄花的危害程度与纬度以及加拿大一枝黄花的生长呈现正相关,说明加拿大一枝黄花对菊方翅网蝽的抗性具有纬度趋势。然而,在温室实验中,来自不同纬度的加拿大一枝黄花受到菊方翅网蝽的伤害程度没有显著差异。此外,当根际土壤和加拿大一枝黄花的根状茎同时来自于野外被轻度危害的加拿大一枝黄花或同时来自于野外被重度危害的加拿大一枝黄花时,加拿大一枝黄花的抗性最强。这一结果表明,加拿大一枝黄花的局部根际土壤微生物促进了加拿大一枝黄花对菊方翅网蝽的抗性。