Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring
IntroductionSpring ephemeral plants represent a unique ecological category of herbaceous plants, characterized by early blooming and vivid flowers with significant ornamental value. Understanding the adaptive strategies of spring ephemerals is crucial for the introduction and cultivation of early sp...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Plant Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1503169/full |
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| author | Liben Pan Liben Pan Tianqi Wang Tianqi Wang Vladimir L. Gavrikov Xiaorui Guo Xiaorui Guo Liqiang Mu Zhonghua Tang Zhonghua Tang |
| author_facet | Liben Pan Liben Pan Tianqi Wang Tianqi Wang Vladimir L. Gavrikov Xiaorui Guo Xiaorui Guo Liqiang Mu Zhonghua Tang Zhonghua Tang |
| author_sort | Liben Pan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionSpring ephemeral plants represent a unique ecological category of herbaceous plants, characterized by early blooming and vivid flowers with significant ornamental value. Understanding the adaptive strategies of spring ephemerals is crucial for the introduction and cultivation of early spring plants, as well as for optimizing light energy utilization and nutrient cycling within ecosystems.MethodsWe evaluated 26 functional traits across four spring ephemerals and four spring non-ephemeral plants along an elevation gradient. By establishing a plant functional trait network, we examined the adaptation strategies of early spring plants at different elevations and compared the differences in adaptation strategies between two types of plants.ResultsSpring ephemerals exhibited higher concentrations of carbon and nitrogen, lower concentrations of carbohydrates, higher edge density and modularity in trait networks, and stronger linkages between defense traits. Plants at higher elevations demonstrated higher leaf dry matter content and leaf total flavonoid concentration, and lower nitrogen concentration, influenced by temperature, precipitation, and soil nutrients.DiscussionThese results demonstrated that spring ephemerals have a strong nutrient uptake capacity, and adopt resource competition strategies to rapidly accumulate nutrients and reproduce. The plants at higher elevations adopt more conservative strategies, with trait networks showing increased modularity, edge density, and closer correlations among traits to enhance resource utilization. This study provides new insights into the adaptive strategies of spring ephemerals by demonstrating how plants allocate resources for growth and defense through the regulation of trait variation and correlations among traits. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-555484b91cc44cdabe1b8b8f1cb340ca |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-462X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Plant Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-555484b91cc44cdabe1b8b8f1cb340ca2025-01-28T06:41:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-01-011610.3389/fpls.2025.15031691503169Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early springLiben Pan0Liben Pan1Tianqi Wang2Tianqi Wang3Vladimir L. Gavrikov4Xiaorui Guo5Xiaorui Guo6Liqiang Mu7Zhonghua Tang8Zhonghua Tang9School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaCollege of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaSchool Ecology and Geography, Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, RussiaKey Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaCollege of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Resource Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaSchool of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaKey Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaNortheast Asia Biodiversity Research Center, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, ChinaIntroductionSpring ephemeral plants represent a unique ecological category of herbaceous plants, characterized by early blooming and vivid flowers with significant ornamental value. Understanding the adaptive strategies of spring ephemerals is crucial for the introduction and cultivation of early spring plants, as well as for optimizing light energy utilization and nutrient cycling within ecosystems.MethodsWe evaluated 26 functional traits across four spring ephemerals and four spring non-ephemeral plants along an elevation gradient. By establishing a plant functional trait network, we examined the adaptation strategies of early spring plants at different elevations and compared the differences in adaptation strategies between two types of plants.ResultsSpring ephemerals exhibited higher concentrations of carbon and nitrogen, lower concentrations of carbohydrates, higher edge density and modularity in trait networks, and stronger linkages between defense traits. Plants at higher elevations demonstrated higher leaf dry matter content and leaf total flavonoid concentration, and lower nitrogen concentration, influenced by temperature, precipitation, and soil nutrients.DiscussionThese results demonstrated that spring ephemerals have a strong nutrient uptake capacity, and adopt resource competition strategies to rapidly accumulate nutrients and reproduce. The plants at higher elevations adopt more conservative strategies, with trait networks showing increased modularity, edge density, and closer correlations among traits to enhance resource utilization. This study provides new insights into the adaptive strategies of spring ephemerals by demonstrating how plants allocate resources for growth and defense through the regulation of trait variation and correlations among traits.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1503169/fullplant functional traitsspring ephemeral plantsplant traits networksadaptation strategyelevation |
| spellingShingle | Liben Pan Liben Pan Tianqi Wang Tianqi Wang Vladimir L. Gavrikov Xiaorui Guo Xiaorui Guo Liqiang Mu Zhonghua Tang Zhonghua Tang Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring Frontiers in Plant Science plant functional traits spring ephemeral plants plant traits networks adaptation strategy elevation |
| title | Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring |
| title_full | Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring |
| title_fullStr | Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring |
| title_short | Trade-off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring |
| title_sort | trade off strategies between growth and defense of spring ephemeral plants in early spring |
| topic | plant functional traits spring ephemeral plants plant traits networks adaptation strategy elevation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1503169/full |
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