Aims The pine rocklands of southern Florida are a fire-dependent forest associated with outcrops of limestone.Pine rockland plants have sev-eral adaptations to fire,and for many species,burning increases plant growth,...Aims The pine rocklands of southern Florida are a fire-dependent forest associated with outcrops of limestone.Pine rockland plants have sev-eral adaptations to fire,and for many species,burning increases plant growth,flowering and seedling establishment.The pine rockland forest has been reduced and fragmented in recent decades.Outside of Everglades National Park,only 2%of the original pine rocklands remain,and they are in the form of small fragments.Our objective is to investigate the effects of fragmentation and habitat quality on abun-dance and plant reproductive fitness of Angadenia berteroi(A.D.C.)Miers,a threatened species of the southern Florida pine rockland.Methods We estimated the density of plants using a stratified random sam-pling design,and reproductive fitness(in terms of percentage of plants with flowers and fruit)by walking transects in an array of habitat fragments of different sizes and degrees of isolation(distance to the nearest fragment)as well as in continuous habitat.Structural equation modeling(SEM)was employed to investigate how A.berteroi reproductive fitness was affected by fragmentation and habitat quality.Important Findings Habitat fragment size was correlated with the density of A.berteroi,but did not have a great impact on its reproductive success.However,habitat quality represented by litter depth and subcan-opy cover had strong negative effects on the reproductive fitness of A.berteroi,suggesting that increased light availability and low litter cover resulting from recent fires may favor reproduction.展开更多
Leaf functional traits are adaptations that enable plants to live under various environmental conditions. This study aims to determine the differences in leaf functional traits among plants grouped by growth habit, le...Leaf functional traits are adaptations that enable plants to live under various environmental conditions. This study aims to determine the differences in leaf functional traits among plants grouped by growth habit, leaf life span,leaf lifestyle, leaf form, and origin. Specific leaf area（SLA） of perennial or evergreen species was lower than that of annual or deciduous species because longer-lived leaves of perennial or evergreen species require more investment in structural integrity and/or defense against disturbances, especially with any resource constraint. SLA of large individuals was lower than that of small individuals. The low SLA in large individuals can improve their response to changing light and water conditions because increasing plant height is advantageous for light competition, but it can also impose a cost in terms of structural support and water transport. Petioles of plants with compound leaves were significantly longer than those of simple leaves because branching is expensive in terms of gaining height. SLA of plants increased with increasing invasiveness accordingly, and SLA of invasive plants was higher than that of their native congeners because invasive plants should invest more biomass on leaf growth rather than leaf structures per unit area to achieve a higher growth rate.Overall, variation in leaf functional traits among different groups may play an adaptive role in the successful survival of plants under diverse environments because leaf functional traits can lead to pronounced effects on leaf function,especially the acquisition and use of light. Plant species with different growth and leaf traits balance resource acquisition and leaf construction to minimize trade-offs and achieve fitness advantages in their natural habitat.展开更多
基金Funding was provided to Beyte Barrios by The Florida Native Plant Society(2008 Endowment Research Grant)FIU Kelly Scholarships(2008,2009,2012,2013)+1 种基金the Catherine H.Beattie Fellowship(2009)from The Garden Club of Americaa Florida International University Doctoral Evidence Acquisition Fellowship(2014).Collections were made under permit#0080 from Natural Areas Management,Miami-Dade County and Everglades National Park Scientific research and collection permit#EVER-2013-SCI-0030.This is contribution#316 to the Tropical Biology Program and#785 to the Southeast Environmental Research Center(SERC)at Florida International University.
文摘Aims The pine rocklands of southern Florida are a fire-dependent forest associated with outcrops of limestone.Pine rockland plants have sev-eral adaptations to fire,and for many species,burning increases plant growth,flowering and seedling establishment.The pine rockland forest has been reduced and fragmented in recent decades.Outside of Everglades National Park,only 2%of the original pine rocklands remain,and they are in the form of small fragments.Our objective is to investigate the effects of fragmentation and habitat quality on abun-dance and plant reproductive fitness of Angadenia berteroi(A.D.C.)Miers,a threatened species of the southern Florida pine rockland.Methods We estimated the density of plants using a stratified random sam-pling design,and reproductive fitness(in terms of percentage of plants with flowers and fruit)by walking transects in an array of habitat fragments of different sizes and degrees of isolation(distance to the nearest fragment)as well as in continuous habitat.Structural equation modeling(SEM)was employed to investigate how A.berteroi reproductive fitness was affected by fragmentation and habitat quality.Important Findings Habitat fragment size was correlated with the density of A.berteroi,but did not have a great impact on its reproductive success.However,habitat quality represented by litter depth and subcan-opy cover had strong negative effects on the reproductive fitness of A.berteroi,suggesting that increased light availability and low litter cover resulting from recent fires may favor reproduction.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31300343)Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province,China(BK20130500)Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment,Research Foundation for Advanced Talents,Jiangsu University(12JDG086)
文摘Leaf functional traits are adaptations that enable plants to live under various environmental conditions. This study aims to determine the differences in leaf functional traits among plants grouped by growth habit, leaf life span,leaf lifestyle, leaf form, and origin. Specific leaf area（SLA） of perennial or evergreen species was lower than that of annual or deciduous species because longer-lived leaves of perennial or evergreen species require more investment in structural integrity and/or defense against disturbances, especially with any resource constraint. SLA of large individuals was lower than that of small individuals. The low SLA in large individuals can improve their response to changing light and water conditions because increasing plant height is advantageous for light competition, but it can also impose a cost in terms of structural support and water transport. Petioles of plants with compound leaves were significantly longer than those of simple leaves because branching is expensive in terms of gaining height. SLA of plants increased with increasing invasiveness accordingly, and SLA of invasive plants was higher than that of their native congeners because invasive plants should invest more biomass on leaf growth rather than leaf structures per unit area to achieve a higher growth rate.Overall, variation in leaf functional traits among different groups may play an adaptive role in the successful survival of plants under diverse environments because leaf functional traits can lead to pronounced effects on leaf function,especially the acquisition and use of light. Plant species with different growth and leaf traits balance resource acquisition and leaf construction to minimize trade-offs and achieve fitness advantages in their natural habitat.
