Botanica Pacifica. A journal of plant science and conservation Preprint
Article first published online: 24 APR 2018 | DOI: 10.17581/bp.2018.07105
Low phenotypic plasticity of plants of monsoon tropical forest to light and their adaptation to scarce resources
Elena V. Novichonok1, Eugenia F. Markovskaya2, Artyom O. Novichonok2,3 & Julia A. Kurbatova4
1 Forest Research Institute, Karelian Research Centre RAS, Petrozavodsk, Russia
2 Petrozavodsk State University, Petrozavodsk, Russia
3 Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics RAS, Moscow, Russia
4 A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, Moscow, Russia
Light is a limiting factor for plants growth and development in the tropical forest understory. At the same time, its characteristic feature is a highly heterogeneous distribution, to which the plants have to adapt. Adaptation is possible by means of phenotypic plasticity. We have assessed the phenotypic plasticity level of leaf parameters to the light factor in 17 species of undergrowth and understory layers. The majority of changes in leaf parameters in changing light conditions were determined by species differences (64.0 % on average). The studied species were divided into six groups according to their plasticity level. For each group, different leaf characteristics played a key role in light adaptation. Consequently, each of the studied species had its own means of light adaptation, and the adaptation strategy in the undergrowth setting was aimed at adaptation to a narrow range of light conditions. This was reflected in the low level of plasticity (the mean RDPI value was 0.12), which allowed species to occupy narrow ecological niches and ensured effective coexistence of plants in the context of limited resources.
Новичонок Е.В., Марковская Е.Ф., Новичонок А.О., Курбатова Ю.А. Низкая фенотипическая пластичность растений муссонного тропического леса к световому фактору и их адаптация к ограниченному количеству ресурсов. Свет является ограничивающим факторов для роста и развития растений подроста и подлеска в тропических лесах. При этом для него характерна сильная гетерогенность в распределении, к которой растения должны адаптироваться. Адаптация растений возможна за счет фенотипической пластичности. Нами была изучена степень фенотипической пластичности характеристик листа к световому фактору 17 видов подлеска и подроста. Бóльшая часть изменений характеристик листа при изменении световых условий была обусловлена видовыми различиями (в среднем 64,0 %). В соответствии с уровнем пластичности изученные виды были разделены на 6 групп. Для каждой группы при адаптации к световому фактору важную роль играют разные характеристики листа. Показано, что каждый из изученных видов имеет собственный способ адаптации к уровню освещенности, а стратегия адаптации в условиях подлеска направлена на приспособление к узкому диапазону световых условий. Это выражается в низком уровне пластичности (в среднем для всех изученных видов RDPI равнялся 0,12), что позволяет отдельным видам занимать узкую экологическую нишу и обеспечивает успешное сосуществование растений в условиях ограниченного количества ресурсов.
Keywords: adaptation, gap, leaf traits, light, RDPI, understory, адаптация, лесные «окна», световой фактор, степень пластичности, подлесок
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