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At least 307 records · Page 17Linked to original sources
USGS2019

Plants trap pollen to feed predatory arthropods as an indirect resistance against herbivory

Plants commonly employ indirect resistance to reduce herbivory by provisioning predatory arthropod populations with additional resources. Numerous predatory arthropods consume pollen that is entrapped on dense, wooly trichomes of plants. Over two seasons, we supplemented pollen on the wooly leaves of turkey mullein, Croton setiger , in natural populations to determine if pollen entrapped on leaves supplements predatory arthropods and reduces herbivore populations and damage to the plant. Pollen supplementation increased the abundance of predatory spiders in both years and omnivorous Orius bugs in 1 yr but had no effect on predatory hemipterans. Pollen supplementation reduced the abundance of herbivorous fleahoppers. Pollen supplementation decreased the amount of leaf damage experienced by plants over the season, suggesting that pollen entrapment may act as an indirect resistance. While C. setiger plants have little control over the amount of pollen on their surfaces, pollen adds to the diet of predatory arthropods that reduce herbivory, thus attraction of predators may be an adaptive benefit of leaf structures such as wooly trichomes that entrap pollen.

Ecology↗
USGS2024

Seasonal drought treatments impact plant and microbial uptake of nitrogen in a mixed shrub grassland on the Colorado Plateau

For many drylands, both long- and short-term drought conditions can accentuate landscape heterogeneity at both temporal (e.g., role of seasonal patterns) and spatial (e.g., patchy plant cover) scales. Furthermore, short-term drought conditions occurring over one season can exacerbate long-term, multidecadal droughts or aridification, by limiting soil water recharge, decreasing plant growth, and altering biogeochemical cycles. Here, we examine how experimentally altered seasonal precipitation regimes in a mixed shrub grassland on the Colorado Plateau impact soil moisture, vegetation, and carbon and nitrogen cycling. The experiment was conducted from 2015 to 2019, during a regional multidecadal drought event, and consisted of three precipitation treatments, which were implemented with removable drought shelters intercepting ~66% of incoming precipitation including: control (ambient precipitation conditions, no shelter), warm season drought (sheltered April–October), and cool season drought (sheltered November–March). To track changes in vegetation, we measured biomass of the dominant shrub, Ephedra viridis , and estimated perennial plant and ground cover in the spring and the fall. Soil moisture dynamics suggested that warm season experimental drought had longer and more consistent drought legacy effects (occurring two out of the four drought cycles) than either cool season drought or ambient conditions, even during the driest years. We also found that E. viridis biomass remained consistent across treatments, while bunchgrass cover declined by 25% by 2019 across all treatments, with the earliest declines noticeable in the warm season drought plots. Extractable dissolved inorganic nitrogen and microbial biomass nitrogen concentrations appeared sensitive to seasonal drought conditions, with dissolved inorganic nitrogen increasing and microbial biomass nitrogen decreasing with reduced soil volumetric water content. Carbon stocks were not sensitive to drought but were greater under E. viridis patches. Additionally, we found that under E. viridis , there was a negative relationship between dissolved inorganic nitrogen and microbial biomass nitrogen, suggesting that drought-induced increases in dissolved inorganic nitrogen may be due to declines in nitrogen uptake from microbes and plants alike. This work suggests that perennial grass plant–soil feedbacks are more vulnerable to both short-term (seasonal) and long-term (multiyear) drought events than shrubs, which can impact the future trajectory of dryland mixed shrub grassland ecosystems as drought frequency and intensity will likely continue to increase with ongoing climate change.

Ecology↗
USGS2023

High-resolution thermal imagery reveals how interactions between crown structure and genetics shape plant temperature

Understanding interactions between environmental stress and genetic variation is crucial to predict the adaptive capacity of species to climate change. Leaf temperature is both a driver and a responsive indicator of plant physiological response to thermal stress, and methods to monitor it are needed. Foliar temperatures vary across leaf to canopy scales and are influenced by genetic factors, challenging efforts to map and model this critical variable. Thermal imagery collected using unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) offers an innovative way to measure thermal variation in plants across landscapes at leaf-level resolutions. We used a UAS equipped with a thermal camera to assess temperature variation among genetically distinct populations of big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ), a keystone plant species that is the focus of intensive restoration efforts throughout much of western North America. We completed flights across a growing season in a sagebrush common garden to map leaf temperature relative to subspecies and cytotype, physiological phenotypes of plants, and summer heat stress. Our objectives were to (1) determine whether leaf-level stomatal conductance corresponds with changes in crown temperature; (2) quantify genetic (i.e., subspecies and cytotype) contributions to variation in leaf and crown temperatures; and (3) identify how crown structure, solar radiation, and subspecies-cytotype relate to leaf-level temperature. When considered across the whole season, stomatal conductance was negatively, non-linearly correlated with crown-level temperature derived from UAS. Subspecies identity best explained crown-level temperature with no difference observed between cytotypes. However, structural phenotypes and microclimate best explained leaf-level temperature. These results show how fine-scale thermal mapping can decouple the contribution of genetic, phenotypic, and microclimate factors on leaf temperature dynamics. As climate-change-induced heat stress becomes prevalent, thermal UAS represents a promising way to track plant phenotypes that emerge from gene-by-environment interactions.

Idaho↗
USGS2013

Plant invasions in protected areas of tropical pacific islands, with special reference to Hawaii

Isolated tropical islands are notoriously vulnerable to plant invasions. Serious management for protection of native biodiversity in Hawaii began in the 1970s, arguably at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Concerted alien plant management began there in the 1980s and has in a sense become a model for protected areas throughout Hawaii and Pacific Island countries and territories. We review the relative successes of their strategies and touch upon how their experience has been applied elsewhere. Protected areas in Hawaii are fortunate in having relatively good resources for addressing plant invasions, but many invasions remain intractable, and invasions from outside the boundaries continue from a highly globalised society with a penchant for horticultural novelty. There are likely few efforts in most Pacific Islands to combat alien plant invasions in protected areas, but such areas may often have fewer plant invasions as a result of their relative remoteness and/or socio-economic development status. The greatest current needs for protected areas in this region may be for establishment of yet more protected areas, for better resources to combat invasions in Pacific Island countries and territories, for more effective control methods including biological control programme to contain intractable species, and for meaningful efforts to address prevention and early detection of potential new invaders.

Hawaii↗
USGS1993

Paper plant effluent revisited-southern Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York

We used geologic and geochemical techniques to document the change with time of the distribution and concentration of contaminated bottom sediments in southern Lake Champlain near an International Paper Company plant. Our work, initiated in 1972, was expanded on behalf of Vermont citizens in a class-action suit against the International Paper Company. To update our 1972-1973 results, we collected nine cores in 1988 upstream and downstream from the paper plant effluent diffuser. Water content, volatile solids, organic carbon, and three ratios, Al/Si, Cl/Si, and S/Si, in addition to megascopic and microscopic observations, were evaluated to identify and trace the distribution of effluent and to measure the thickness of sediment affected by or containing components of effluent. Analyses were carried out on samples from the cores as well as from effluent collected directly from the plant's waste treatment facility. In 1973, two years after the plant opened, we cored near the diffuser; sediment contaminated with effluent was 4.5 cm thick. In 1988, in the same area, sediment contaminated with effluent was 17 cm thick. In 15 years, water content increased from 72 to 85 percent, volatile solids from 7 to 20 percent, and organic carbon from 2 to 12 percent. Cl/Si and S/Si were high only near the diffuser and were zero elsewhere. In the area of the diffuser, contaminated sediment appears to be accumulating at a rate of about 1 cm/yr. At a control location 22 km upstream (south) from the plant, the top, poorly consoli-dated layer was only 1 cm or less thick both in 1973 and in 1988. The class-action suit was settled in favor of the plaintiffs for $5 million. ?? 1993 Springer-Verlag.

New York, Vermont↗
USGS2010

Nitrogen-limitation and invasive sweetclover impacts vary between two Great Plains plant communities

Yellow sweetclover is an exotic herbaceous legume common in the Great Plains of the US. Although woody legumes have been shown to affect ecosystem processes through nitrogen (N) fixation (i.e., they can be considered "transformers" sensu Richardson et al. (2000)), the same has not been shown for short-lived herbaceous species. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify the effects of yellow sweetclover on N mineralization and nitrification and (2) assess the effects of N fertilization on two plant communities, badlands sparse vegetation and western wheatgrass prairie. We used in situ (in wheatgrass prairie) and laboratory incubations (for both plant communities) to assess N dynamics at sites with high and low sweetclover cover in the two plant communities. We found that both N mineralization and nitrification were higher in the high sweetclover plots in the sparse plant community, but not in the wheatgrass prairie. To assess fertilization effects and determine if nutrients or water were limiting at our sites, we conducted a field experiment with five resource addition treatments, (1) N, (2) N + water, (3) water, (4) phosphorus, and (5) no addition. Water was limiting in the wheatgrass prairie but contrary to expectation, N was not. In contrast, N was limiting in the sparse community, where a fertilization effect was seen in exotic forbs, especially the toxic invader Halogeton glomeratus . Our results emphasize the contingent nature of plant invasion in which effects are largely dependent on attributes of the recipient vegetation.

Great Plains↗
USGS2023

The invasive plant data landscape: A synthesis of spatial data and applications for research and management in the United States

Context An increase in the number and availability of datasets cataloging invasive plant distributions offers opportunities to expand our understanding, monitoring, and management of invasives across spatial scales. These datasets, created using on-the-ground observations and modeling techniques, are made both for and by researchers and managers. Objectives The large number and variety of data types and associated datasets can be difficult to navigate, require high levels of data literacy, and can overwhelm the intended end-users. By providing a synthesis of available data types and datasets, this work may facilitate data understanding and use among researchers and managers. Methods We synthesize types of invasive plant distribution data sources, highlighting publicly available datasets and their potential applications and limitations for research and management. Results Eight data types and their potential applications for research and management are described. We also describe gaps in current invasive species distribution data usability and outline a path forward for improving the use of invasive plant data in future research and management. Conclusions Accessible and usable invasive plant spatial data are needed for developing landscape scale analysis and management plans. By synthesizing the invasive plant data available, with examples and limitations for application, this work will serve as a guide to facilitate appropriate and efficient data choices in current and future research and management.

Nevada↗
USGS2009

Plant community establishment following drawdown of a reservoir in southern Arkansas, USA

Wetland area, function and wildlife habitat value are extensively altered by the construction of freshwater reservoirs. We studied the effects of a temporary drawdown on shoreline vegetation communities of Felsenthal Navigation Pool (“the pool”), an impoundment at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge in southern Arkansas that is managed as a greentree reservoir. The pool was permanently flooded from 1985 until the summer of 1995 when the water level was dropped 0.3 m for about 16 weeks, exposing about 1,591 ha of soil. To document plant succession on the sediments exposed, we recorded plant species composition and cover at 14 transects along the pool margin prior to the drawdown, during the drawdown, and in the following summer. A soil disturbance treatment was applied near five transects following the drawdown, and soil was collected at each transect for seed bank and soil analyses. Plants colonized the drawdown zone quickly and high vegetation cover was present at some transects 4 weeks after the drawdown was initiated. Plants included species that are high quality food sources for waterfowl, including Cyperus erythrorhizos and Leptochloa fascicularis var. fascicularis . Vegetation response, measured by species richness, total cover, and cover of Cyperus species, was often greater at low compared to high elevations in the drawdown zone; this effect was probably intensified by low summer rainfall. Response on the disturbed transects was lower than that on the undisturbed transects. This effect was attributed to two factors: (1) removal of the existing seed bank by the disturbance applied and (2) reduced incorporation of seeds recruited during the drawdown because of unusually low rainfall. Seed bank studies demonstrated that several species persisted despite 10 years of continual flooding, and that seed bank species richness increased during the drawdown. Although conclusions are limited by the 1-year time frame of the study, it is unlikely that permanent change to plant community structure in the drawdown zone resulted from the lowered water level.

Arkansas↗
USGS2011

Plant allocation of carbon to defense as a function of herbivory, light and nutrient availability

We use modeling to determine the optimal relative plant carbon allocations between foliage, fine roots, anti-herbivore defense, and reproduction to maximize reproductive output. The model treats these plant components and the herbivore compartment as variables. Herbivory is assumed to be purely folivory. Key external factors include nutrient availability, degree of shading, and intensity of herbivory. Three alternative functional responses are used for herbivory, two of which are variations on donor-dependent herbivore (models 1a and 1b) and one of which is a Lotka–Volterra type of interaction (model 2). All three were modified to include the negative effect of chemical defenses on the herbivore. Analysis showed that, for all three models, two stable equilibria could occur, which differs from most common functional responses when no plant defense component is included. Optimal strategies of carbon allocation were defined as the maximum biomass of reproductive propagules produced per unit time, and found to vary with changes in external factors. Increased intensity of herbivory always led to an increase in the fractional allocation of carbon to defense. Decreases in available limiting nutrient generally led to increasing importance of defense. Decreases in available light had little effect on defense but led to increased allocation to foliage. Decreases in limiting nutrient and available light led to decreases in allocation to reproduction in models 1a and 1b but not model 2. Increases in allocation to plant defense were usually accompanied by shifts in carbon allocation away from fine roots, possibly because higher plant defense reduced the loss of nutrients to herbivory.

Theoretical Ecology↗
USGS2020

How plants influence resilience of salt marsh and mangrove wetlands to sea-level rise

This review evaluates the importance of plants and associated biological processes in determining the vulnerability of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise. Coastal wetlands occur across a broad sedimentary continuum from minerogenic to biogenic, providing an opportunity to examine the relative importance of biological processes in wetland resilience to sea-level rise. We explore how plants influence sediment accretion, elevation capital (vertical position in the tidal frame), and compaction or erosion of deposited material. We focus on salt marsh and mangrove wetlands, which occupy a similar physiographic niche and display similar physical and biological controls on resilience to sea-level rise. In both habitats, plants stabilize emergent mudflats and help sustain the wetland position in the tidal frame relative to ocean height through both surface and subsurface process controls on soil elevation. Plants influence soil elevations by modifying (1) mineral sediment deposition and retention, (2) organic matter contributions to soil volume, and (3) resistance to compaction and erosion. Recognition of the importance of plants in coastal wetland resilience to sea-level rise is key to accurate predictions about the future fate of salt marshes and mangrove forests and for development of effective management and restoration plans.

Estuaries and Coasts↗
USGS2017

Changes in community-level riparian plant traits over inundation gradients, Colorado River, Grand Canyon

Comparisons of community-level functional traits across environmental gradients have potential for identifying links among plant characteristics, adaptations to stress and disturbance, and community assembly. We investigated community-level variation in specific leaf area (SLA), plant mature height, seed mass, stem specific gravity (SSG), relative cover of C4 species, and total plant cover over hydrologic zones and gradients in years 2013 and 2014 in the riparian plant community along the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Vegetation cover was lowest in the frequently inundated active channel zone, indicating constraints on plant establishment and production by flood disturbance and anaerobic stress. Changes in trait values over hydrologic zones and inundation gradients indicate that frequently inundated plots exhibit a community-level ruderal strategy with adaptation to submergence (high SLA and low SSG, height, seed mass, C4 relative cover), whereas less frequently inundated plots exhibit adaptation to drought and infrequent flood disturbance (low SLA and high SSG, height, seed mass, C4 relative cover). Variation in traits not associated with inundation suggests niche differentiation and multiple modes of community assembly. The results enhance understanding of future responses of riparian communities of the Grand Canyon to anticipated drying and changes in hydrologic regime.

Arizona↗
USGS2020

Riparian plant communities remain stable in response to a second cycle of Tamarix biocontrol defoliation

Reduced abundance of non-native Tamarix shrubs in western U.S. riparian systems following biological control by a defoliating beetle has led to concerns that replacement plant communities could be dominated by other invasive species and/or not provide some of the ecosystem services that Tamarix was providing. In previous studies, Tamarix decline following biocontrol was accompanied by small increases in native and non-native herbaceous species, with variable responses of woody vegetation. However, none of these studies spanned periods longer than a decade since beetle release. This is an important caveat, given the cyclical nature of plant-herbivore interactions and potential lags in vegetation recovery. We report plant community response to an eight-year-long second cycle of Tamarix defoliation-refoliation in two reaches of the upper Colorado River in eastern Utah, 11–13 years after beetle arrival. Tamarix cover across sites initially declined an average of ca. 50% in response to the beetle, but then recovered. Changes in the associated plant community were small but supported common management goals, including a 47% average increase in cover of a native shrub ( Salix exigua ), and no secondary invasions by other non-native plants. We suggest that the effectiveness of biocontrol programs must be assessed case-by-case, and on a long-term basis.

Utah↗
USGS1990

Photosynthetic pathways in freshwater aquatic plants

Recent studies show that generalizations about photosynthetic pathways, derived from terrestrial plant studies, do not apply to aquatic plants. Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis is of selective value not only in arid environments, where it enhances water-use efficiency, but also in aquatic plants of oligotrophic waters, where it enhances competitive ability in carbon acquisition. C 4 photosynthesis is present in many aquatic species, but in these species it is not coupled with the specialized anatomy of terrestrial C 4 plants. The ratio of the stable carbon isotopes, 13 C/ 12 C, in the biomass of terrestrial plants is a marker of their photosynthetic pathway. In aquatic environments, additional resistances to carbon-isotope fractionation make this technique of limited use in detecting photosynthetic pathways.

Trends in Ecology and Evolution↗
USGS2012

Leaching of elements from bottom ash, economizer fly ash, and fly ash from two coal-fired power plants

To assess how elements leach from several types of coal combustion products (CCPs) and to better understand possible risks from CCP use or disposal, coal ashes were sampled from two bituminous-coal-fired power plants. One plant located in Ohio burns high-sulfur (about 3.9%) Upper Pennsylvanian Pittsburgh coal from the Monongahela Group of the Central Appalachian Basin; the other in New Mexico burns low-sulfur (about 0.76%) Upper Cretaceous Fruitland Formation coal from the San Juan Basin, Colorado Plateau. The sampled CCPs from the Ohio plant were bottom ash (BA), economizer fly ash (EFA), and fly ash (FA); the sampled CCPs from the New Mexico plant were BA, mixed FA/EFA, FA, and cyclone-separated coarse and fine fractions of a FA/EFA and FA blend. Subsamples of each ash were leached using the long-term leaching (60-day duration) component of the synthetic groundwater leaching procedure (SGLP) or the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP, 18-hour duration). These ashes were all alkaline. Leachate concentrations and leachabilities of the elements from the CCPs were similar between corresponding CCP types (BA, EFA, and FA) from each plant. The leachabilities of most elements were lowest in BA (least leachable) and increased from EFA to FA (most leachable). Ca and Sr were leached more from EFA than from either BA or FA. Leachability of most elements also increased as FA particle size decreased, possibly due in part to increasing specific surface areas. Several oxyanion-forming elements (As, Mo, Se, U, and V) leached more under SGLP than under TCLP; the opposite was true for most other elements analyzed.

International Journal of Coal Geology↗
USGS2018

Climate-related variation in plant peak biomass and growth phenology across Pacific Northwest tidal marshes

The interannual variability of tidal marsh plant phenology is largely unknown and may have important ecological consequences. Marsh plants are critical to the biogeomorphic feedback processes that build estuarine soils, maintain marsh elevation relative to sea level, and sequester carbon. We calculated Tasseled Cap Greenness, a metric of plant biomass, using remotely sensed data available in the Landsat archive to assess how recent climate variation has affected biomass production and plant phenology across three maritime tidal marshes in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. First, we used clipped vegetation plots at one of our sites to confirm that tasseled cap greenness provided a useful measure of aboveground biomass (r 2 = 0.72). We then used multiple measures of biomass each growing season over 20–25 years per study site and developed models to test how peak biomass and the date of peak biomass varied with 94 climate and sea-level metrics using generalized linear models and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) model selection. Peak biomass was positively related to total annual precipitation, while the best predictor for date of peak biomass was average growing season temperature, with the peak 7.2 days earlier per degree C. Our study provides insight into how plants in maritime tidal marshes respond to interannual climate variation and demonstrates the utility of time-series remote sensing data to assess ecological responses to climate stressors.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2020

Projected climate and land use changes drive plant community composition in agricultural wetlands

Playa wetlands in the Great Plains, USA support a wide variety of plant species not found elsewhere in this agriculturally-dominated region due to the ephemeral presence of standing water and hydric soils within playas. If longer dry periods occur due to climate change or if changes in surrounding land use alter sediment accumulation rates and water storage capacity in playas, plant communities could experience decreased diversity, with lasting effects on ecosystem services provided by playas in the Great Plains and at a continental-level in North America. We quantified potential changes in playa wetland plant community composition associated with predicted changes in precipitation and land use in the Great Plains through the end of the 21 st century. We conducted two six-month greenhouse experiments mimicking field conditions using intact mesocosms collected from playas in Nebraska and Texas. In the precipitation experiment, treatments derived from historical precipitation observations and three future moderate emissions (CMIP5 RCP4.5) downscaled climate projections were applied to mesocosms. For the land use experiment, treatments were simulated by nitrogen (N) applications to soil ranging from 0 to 100 mg-N L -1 with each precipitation event under historical rainfall patterns, representing increasing and decreasing area in agricultural use in playa watersheds. Plant communities tended to shift toward more native species under projected future climate conditions, but as N runoff increased, native species richness decreased. Agricultural land-use surrounding playas may have a greater effect on wetland plant communities than future alterations to hydrology based on climate change in the Great Plains; thus, efforts to reduce nutrient runoff into playas would likely mitigate loss in ecosystem function in the coming decades.

Nebraska, Texas↗
USGS2021

Effects of variable-density thinning on non-native understory plants in coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest

Old-growth forests serve as critical habitat for many sensitive species, but management practices have diminished their prevalence, and former regions of old-growth are now dominated by second-growth stands lacking the structural heterogeneity, diversity, and species richness that these older forests possess. In western Washington state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, the Olympic Habitat Development Study was designed to address this issue and hasten the development of specific old-growth features in second-growth stands using variable-density thinning. One concern with such methods, however, is the potential to introduce non-native plants, which can have negative ecological and economic impacts. Here, we examine how variable-density thinning influences desirable forest characteristics, such as increased plant species diversity, versus the less desirable effects of non-native plant species introduction. We test two hypotheses regarding plant invasions. First, thinning would promote establishment of non-native, shade-intolerant species, but their abundance would gradually decline over time. Second, thinning disturbance and increased heterogeneity of canopy cover would initially promote understory richness of all species, although richness would decline over time with canopy closure and increased cover of shrubs and regenerating trees. We found that the number and cover of non-native species initially increased after thinning, peaking at 16 species present in variable-density thinned treatments in year three. By year 17, 11 species remained throughout the seven 6.5 ha treatment plots sampled, and cover was negligible. As predicted, species richness increased following thinning, however, native species richness remained elevated through year 17, contrary to our hypothesis. Furthermore, native species diversity also increased following thinning and remained higher in thinned treatments than controls through year 17. Our results show that variable-density thinning in temperate coniferous forests can enhance native, but not exotic, plant richness and diversity in the long term.

Washington↗
USGS2017

Post-fire interactions between soil water repellency, soil fertility and plant growth in soil collected from a burned piñon-juniper woodland

Woody plant encroachment can increase nutrient resources in the plant-mound zone. After a fire, this zone is often found to be water repellent. This study aimed to understand the effects of post-fire water repellency on soil water and inorganic nitrogen and their effects on plant growth of the introduced annual Bromus tectorum and native bunchgrass Pseudoroegneria spicata. Plots centered on burned Juniperus osteosperma trees were either left untreated or treated with surfactant to ameliorate water repellency. After two years, we excavated soil from the untreated and treated plots and placed it in zerotension lysimeter pots. In the greenhouse, half of the pots received an additional surfactant treatment. Pots were seeded separately with B. tectorum or P. spicata. Untreated soils had high runoff, decreased soilwater content, and elevated NO3eN in comparison to surfactant treated soils. The two plant species typically responded similar to the treatments. Above-ground biomass and microbial activity (estimated through soil CO2 gas emissions) was 16.8-fold and 9.5-fold higher in the surfactant-treated soils than repellent soils, respectably. This study demonstrates that water repellency can influence site recovery by decreasing soil water content, promoting inorganic N retention, and impairing plant growth and microbial activity.

Utah↗