IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-22 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152892

Chunshan Gong , Jun Wang , Shengmei Guo , Tingfa Dong , Chunyan Zhang

With global climate change, the frequency of alternating drought and rainfall will increase, which will have a significant impact on the growth and survival of annual dioecious plants. However, sex-specific response of dioecious plants and trade-offs among growth, defense and reproduction under intermittent drought conditions (ID) remain unknown. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), an annual dioecious plant, was used as the model and subjected to well-watered conditions (WW) and ID, and then the growth, reproduction and defense-related traits were compared between female and male plants. Our results showed that under WW, compared with male plants, female plants had significantly higher biomass (e.g., root and leaf biomass, RDW and LDW), and higher flower dry weight (FDW), stem-flower dry weight (SFDW) and inflorescence number (NI), but lower peroxidase (POD) activities, which suggested sex-specific trade-offs between growth and reproduction and defense in female and male plants. Under ID, female plants exhibited significant reductions in RDW and LDW, while their superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities increased markedly and FDW, SFDW, and NI decreased. In contrast, RDW and LDW of male plants did not change significantly under ID compared to WW, but their POD activities decreased significantly, while their FDW, SFDW and NI did not change significantly. These results revealed how variations in sex-specific trade-offs among growth, reproduction and defense affect the performance of males and females under ID. This sex-specific trade-offs provide evolutionary insights into the ecological mechanisms underlying the persistence of dioecious plant populations under stress.

随着全球气候的变化，旱涝交替的频率将增加，这将对一年生雌雄异株植物的生长和存活产生重大影响。然而，在间歇性干旱条件下，雌雄异株植物的性别特异性反应以及生长、防御和繁殖之间的权衡仍不清楚。以一年生雌雄异株植物菠菜（Spinacia oleracea L.）为模型，在水分充足的条件下（WW）和水分充足的条件下（ID），比较了雌雄植株的生长、繁殖和防御相关性状。结果表明，在WW条件下，与雄性植物相比，雌性植物的生物量（根和叶生物量、RDW和LDW）显著高于雄性植物，花干重（FDW）、茎花干重（SFDW）和花序数（NI）显著高于雌性植物，但过氧化物酶（POD）活性明显低于雄性植物，这表明雌雄植物在生长繁殖和防御方面存在性别特异性权衡。光照条件下，雌性植株RDW和LDW显著降低，超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性显著升高，FDW、SFDW和NI降低。而雄性植株的RDW和LDW与WW相比变化不显著，但POD活性显著降低，FDW、SFDW和NI变化不显著。这些结果揭示了生长、繁殖和防御之间性别特异性权衡的变化如何影响ID下雄性和雌性的表现。这种性别特异性的权衡提供了对雌雄异株植物种群在逆境下持续存在的生态机制的进化见解。

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引用次数: 0

High salt tolerance and salt-mediated enhancement of drought stress tolerance in Zygophyllum fabago 高耐盐性及盐介导的蚕豆籽粒抗旱性增强

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-21 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152891

Fereshteh Karimian, Roghieh Hajiboland, Fatemeh Nazari

Zygophyllum fabago, a perennial species of the family Zygophyllaceae native to arid and semi-arid regions, is a key component of the Irano-Turanian floristic zone. Despite its ecological relevance, this species’ halophytic behavior and salt response mechanisms have not been previously characterized. In a short-term hydroponic experiment, plants were exposed to NaCl concentrations of up to 700 mM for two weeks. In a long-term study, plants subjected to control, 150 mM, and 400 mM NaCl were further exposed to three levels of drought stress. The highest dry biomass production was observed at 200–400 mM, with no significant growth reduction even at 700 mM, indicating a remarkable level of salt tolerance. Measurements of growth parameters, water relations, and stress indicators confirmed a high tolerance to both salt and drought, with evidence of salt-enhanced drought resilience. Under single-stress conditions, the activity of antioxidant enzymes and organic osmolyte levels remained unchanged or declined, but elevated when both stresses were applied simultaneously. Under both treatments, phenolics content in the leaves increased, whereas lignin deposition decreased, reaching the lowest levels under stress combination. The findings indicate that Z. fabago employs integrated tolerance mechanisms, including high Na accumulation capacity, salt-induced succulence, optimized stomatal density, enhanced taproot elongation, and minimization of non-essential metabolic costs. These features support individual stress tolerance and cross-tolerance to combined salt and drought conditions. Given its physiological resilience and adaptive plasticity, Z. fabago is proposed as a promising candidate for land stabilization and ecological restoration of saline soils in arid and semi-arid environments.

fabago是一种原产于干旱和半干旱地区的多年生植物，是伊朗-图兰区系的重要组成部分。尽管具有生态学意义，但该物种的盐生行为和盐反应机制尚未被表征。在短期水培试验中，植物暴露在浓度高达700 mM的NaCl环境中2周。在长期研究中，将对照、150 mM和400 mM NaCl处理的植株进一步暴露在三个干旱胁迫水平下。在200-400 mM处干生物量产量最高，即使在700 mM处也没有明显的生长减少，表明耐盐性显著。生长参数、水分关系和胁迫指标的测量证实了对盐和干旱的高耐受性，有证据表明盐增强了抗旱能力。在单一胁迫条件下，抗氧化酶活性和有机渗透物水平保持不变或下降，而同时施加两种胁迫时，抗氧化酶活性和有机渗透物水平升高。两种处理下，叶片中酚类物质含量增加，木质素沉积减少，在胁迫组合下达到最低水平。结果表明，蚕豆具有综合的耐盐机制，包括高钠积累能力、盐诱导多肉化、优化气孔密度、增强主根伸长和最小化非必需代谢成本。这些特性支持对盐和干旱组合条件的个体应力耐受性和交叉耐受性。由于其生理弹性和适应可塑性，蚕豆被认为是干旱和半干旱环境下盐碱地稳定和生态恢复的有希望的候选植物。

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引用次数: 0

Topographic factors drive plant diversity to a greater extent than vegetation structure in dry woodlands dominated by Ramorinoa girolae Speg 在以柽柳为主的干旱区，地形因素对植物多样性的驱动作用大于植被结构

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-20 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152880

Campos Valeria Evelín , Gatica Gabriel

The dominant woody species inhabiting drylands play a critical role as ecosystem engineers, altering microclimate, soil properties, and resource availability, thereby enhancing plant species diversity at the community level. Understanding the importance of woodland structure versus environmental drivers (such as topographic factors) is key to defining management and conservation strategies for species diversity. We test the importance of these drivers in dry woodlands dominated by Ramorinoa girolae Speg., an endemic woody species in the Monte Desert that provides valuable ecosystem services. We hypothesized that R. girolae is a nurse woody species, modifying microclimate and soil conditions to create spatial heterogeneity in resources and habitats, thereby promoting high plant species diversity. To this end, we conducted an observational study over 36 plots of dry R. girolae-dominated woodlands, distributed across a topographic factors gradient. Although woodland structure did not affect the diversity, altitude exhibited a negative relationship with the number of common and dominant species across all study sites and scales. The ruggedness and wetness indices exerted significant effects but only at a single spatial scale. Our results highlight that conservation concerns are greater when plant species diversity depends primarily on abiotic factors beyond the reach of forest management.

栖息在旱地的优势木本物种作为生态系统工程师，改变了小气候、土壤性质和资源可利用性，从而增强了群落水平上的植物物种多样性。了解林地结构与环境驱动因素（如地形因素）的重要性是确定物种多样性管理和保护策略的关键。我们测试了这些驱动因素在干旱林地的重要性，主要是在干旱林地中。它是蒙特沙漠特有的木本物种，提供有价值的生态系统服务。我们推测，小气候和土壤条件的改变导致了植物资源和生境的空间异质性，从而促进了植物物种的高度多样性。为此，我们对36个以柽柳为主的干旱区进行了地形因子梯度观测研究。在所有研究点和尺度上，林地结构对物种多样性没有影响，但海拔高度与常见和优势物种数量呈负相关。粗度指数和湿度指数仅在单一空间尺度上有显著影响。我们的研究结果强调，当植物物种多样性主要依赖于森林管理无法达到的非生物因素时，保护问题更加严重。

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引用次数: 0

Modelling the growth of the clonal invasive plant Carpobrotus sp.: A management approach 克隆入侵植物石竹的生长模拟：一种管理方法

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-19 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152881

Rubén Portela , Natalia García Vázquez , Sergio R. Roiloa

Biological invasions are considered of the most serious threats to global biodiversity, with considerable economic costs being a consequence. The efficient management of these harmful species should therefore be considered a priority in conservation policy. As invasive species proliferate and new species arrive in a region, control costs are expected to increase, making the improvement of prevention and management strategies mandatory. The objective of this study is to develop a predictive model to facilitate the management of two invasive species of the genus Carpobrotus. A comprehensive understanding of the expansion patterns of a particular population is essential for the selection of suitable management strategies. The model developed in this study indicates that chemical control is the most economically efficient method. Conversely, methods involving manual removal of plant material implicate a greater number of working hours, and therefore a higher economic cost. For all three methods evaluated (mechanical removal, chemical treatment, chemical treatment with necromass removal), the total management costs increased with time. However, this cost increase was not proportional between the different methods, being much more pronounced for mechanical control. The findings underscore the pivotal role of early detection, facilitating the implementation of cost-effective mechanical eradication strategies, thereby reducing the reliance on chemical control measures.

生物入侵被认为是对全球生物多样性最严重的威胁，其后果是造成相当大的经济代价。因此，这些有害物种的有效管理应被视为保护政策的优先事项。随着入侵物种的扩散和新物种的到来，控制成本预计会增加，这使得改进预防和管理策略势在必行。本研究的目的是建立一个预测模型，以促进两种入侵物种的管理。全面了解某一特定人口的增长模式对于选择适当的管理战略是必不可少的。本研究建立的模型表明，化学防治是最经济有效的方法。相反，涉及人工清除植物材料的方法需要更多的工作时间，因此经济成本更高。对于所有评估的三种方法（机械切除、化学治疗、化学治疗合并坏死块切除），总管理成本随着时间的推移而增加。然而，这种成本的增加在不同的方法之间并不是成比例的，在机械控制中更为明显。研究结果强调了早期发现的关键作用，促进了具有成本效益的机械根除策略的实施，从而减少了对化学控制措施的依赖。

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引用次数: 0

Corrigendum to “Do stem functional traits determine the phenology of tree species in semiarid highland forest, Brazil” [Flora Volume 332, November 2025, 152845] “干功能性状决定巴西半干旱高原森林树种物候”的勘误表[Flora Volume 332，十一月2025,152845]

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-16 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152870

Isnaiane Maria de Azevedo de Sousa Lima , Angela Lucena Nascimento de Jesus , Cintia Amando , Nielson Dinivan da Silva Brito , Marcia Nunes de Melo Santos , Maria Jesus Nogueira Rodal , Renata Akemi Shinozaki-Mendes , André Laurênio de Melo , André Luiz Alves de Lima

引用次数: 0

The effects of lead and manganese in soil on males and females of the dioecious herb Spinacia oleracea 土壤中铅和锰对雌雄异株苋雄性和雌性的影响

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-15 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152879

M. Fisher , K. BéruBé , T. Jones , B. Rees , J. Sánchez Vilas

Males and females of dioecious plant species commonly differ in their morphology, physiology or life-history traits, and also in their response to environmental stress, which may lead to sex biases and eventually to population declines. Metal toxicity is an extreme case of environmental stress, where differences in tolerance between males and females have been reported before, but mainly in woody species (trees from the genus Populus). Here, we aimed to increase our understanding of the response of the sexes of dioecious species to metal stress by investigating the individual and combined effects of added Pb and Mn to the soil on the growth and physiological performance of male and female plants of the wind-pollinated herb spinach (Spinacia oleracea L). We carried out a glasshouse experiment, where male and female plants of S. oleracea were grown in soils without and with added Pb, Mn and combined Pb + Mn (added as nitrates), and with different nutrient levels (‘low’ or ‘high’ nutrients). The addition of Pb and Mn as nitrates did not have any detrimental effects on the growth, chlorophyll content, % N, %C and C/N in spinach plants. Moreover, the addition of Pb (NO₃)₂ and Mn (NO₃)₂ appears to have increased the nitrates in the soil, as shown by the improved nitrogen content found in plants growing under low nutrients. Male plants accumulated more Pb and Mn in their aboveground tissues than females, but this was not followed by greater detrimental effects on growth. Overall, this study highlights the relevance of the metal species added in causing toxic effects and points to a greater tolerance to metal stress in males of S. oleracea.

雌雄异株植物的雄性和雌性在形态、生理或生活史特征以及对环境胁迫的反应上通常存在差异，这可能导致性别偏见，最终导致种群数量下降。金属毒性是环境胁迫的一种极端情况，以前曾报道过雄性和雌性之间的耐受性差异，但主要发生在木本物种（杨树属的树木）。本研究通过研究土壤中添加Pb和Mn对风传粉草本植物菠菜（Spinacia oleracea L）雌雄植株生长和生理性能的单独和联合影响，旨在进一步了解雌雄异株植物对金属胁迫的性别响应。我们进行了一项温室试验，在不含铅和添加铅、锰和铅+锰组合（以硝酸盐添加）的土壤中，在不同的营养水平（“低”或“高”营养）下种植甘蓝雌雄植株。添加Pb和Mn作为硝酸盐对菠菜植株生长、叶绿素含量、% N、%C和C/N均无不利影响。此外，添加Pb (NO3)2和Mn (NO3)2似乎增加了土壤中的硝酸盐，这表明在低营养条件下生长的植物的氮含量有所提高。雄株地上组织中Pb和Mn的积累量高于雌株，但对生长的不利影响并不明显。总的来说，这项研究强调了金属物种在引起毒性作用中的相关性，并指出了雄性甘蓝对金属胁迫的更大耐受性。

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引用次数: 0

Endemic plant parasite (Cuscuta howelliana) and host (Eryngium castrense) vary along a hydroperiod gradient in California vernal pools 加州春季池塘的特有植物寄生虫（Cuscuta howelliana）和寄主（Eryngium castrense）沿水循环梯度变化

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-12 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152878

Tirzah Cochran, Madeline Baker, Jamie M. Kneitel

Understanding host-parasite interactions is a central question in ecology. The distribution and abundance of plant hosts and parasites tend to be less studied in natural ecosystems. In California, vernal pools are seasonal wetlands that are habitat to the plant parasite Cuscuta howelliana (Bogg’s lake dodder) and its most common host, Eryngium castrense (Coyote thistle). Previous research has identified the interaction and its community effects, but little research has been conducted on their distribution, abundance, and infection patterns, as well as how these change, along a hydroperiod gradient. Ten vernal pools were sampled using 5 random quadrats along 2 transects. Both Cuscuta and Eryngium displayed clumped dispersion patterns within pools. Cuscuta cover had a strong positive association with inundation period and Eryngium traits (height and inflorescence number) had a strong positive association with inundation period. Eryngium plants were smaller at higher densities. Eryngium characteristics were significantly smaller in the presence of Cuscuta infection but highly variable across pools. Path analysis showed that there were significant direct and indirect pathways from hydroperiod to infection rates. The strongest pathway was the increased hydroperiod to increasing Cuscuta cover to increasing infection. These results highlighted the complex interactions among parasite, host, and the environment. This will help understand the spatial ecology of parasite-host interactions along an environmental gradient of this imperiled and diverse ecosystem.

了解宿主与寄生虫的相互作用是生态学中的一个核心问题。在自然生态系统中，对植物寄主和寄生虫的分布和丰度研究较少。在加利福尼亚，春天的池塘是季节性湿地，是植物寄生虫Cuscuta howelliana（博格斯湖菟菟子）及其最常见的宿主狼蓟（Eryngium castrense）的栖息地。以前的研究已经确定了相互作用及其群落效应，但对它们的分布、丰度和感染模式以及它们如何沿着水周期梯度变化的研究很少。采用5个随机样方沿2条样带采样10个春水池。Cuscuta和Eryngium在池内均呈块状分散模式。菟丝子盖度与淹没期有较强的正相关关系，叶柄性状（高度和花序数）与淹没期有较强的正相关关系。在较高的密度下，鹰嘴藻植株较小。在库斯库塔感染的情况下，羊膜特征明显变小，但在不同池之间变化很大。通径分析表明，水期与感染率之间存在显著的直接和间接关系。最强的途径是增加水周期→增加库库盖度→增加侵染。这些结果强调了寄生虫、宿主和环境之间复杂的相互作用。这将有助于了解寄生虫-宿主相互作用的空间生态学沿着这个危险的和多样化的生态系统的环境梯度。

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引用次数: 0

Temporal alignment? Assessing phenological synchrony between host plants and gall-inducing arthropods in Brazilian Dry Forest 时间对齐?巴西干旱林寄主植物与节肢动物的物候同步性评估

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-03 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152869

Juliana Santos-Silva , Fabrício Carvalho-Silva , Maria Isabel Alves de Lima , Amadeu dos Santos Neto , Henrique Venâncio , Jean Carlos Santos

The synchronization between the phenology of gall-inducing insects and that of their host plants is a key ecological and evolutionary process influencing insect reproductive success and the dynamics of insect–plant interactions. This temporal alignment can also drive co-evolutionary processes between the associated species. Despite their importance, the phenological patterns of gall-inducing insects and their host plants remain understudied in the Neotropical region, limiting our understanding of their evolutionary implications. In this study, we evaluated the association between the phenological cycle of gall-inducing arthropods and the phenological phases of Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl (Euphorbiaceae) and Poecilanthe ulei (Harms) Arroyo & Rudd (Fabaceae) in the Brazilian dry forest (Caatinga). In general, the phenophases of host plant exhibit significant seasonality, which may regulate the development of associated gall-forming organisms. The induction, development and abundance of gall morphotypes were also influenced by the characteristic seasonal climate of the Caatinga. This phenological pattern suggests that the studied plant species may host gall-inducing insects with an univoltine life cycle (one generation per year). The pronounced environmental seasonality of the Caatinga, characterized by distinct wet and dry periods, is reflected in the phenological response of the studied systems. Our findings indicate that gall-inducing insects represent as a valuable model system for investigating phenological processes, owing to their specialized interactions with host plants in the Caatinga biome.

诱导瘿虫物候与其寄主植物物候的同步性是影响昆虫繁殖成功和昆虫-植物相互作用动态的关键生态和进化过程。这种时间排列也可以驱动相关物种之间的共同进化过程。尽管它们很重要，但在新热带地区，诱导瘿虫及其寄主植物的物候模式仍未得到充分研究，限制了我们对其进化意义的理解。本研究对巴西干旱林（Caatinga）产瘿节肢动物物候周期与大胡科（Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl）和豆科（Poecilanthe ulei）阿罗约（Arroyo & Rudd）物候期的关系进行了研究。一般来说，寄主植物的物候期表现出明显的季节性，这可能调节相关瘿形成生物的发育。油菜形态型的诱导、发育和丰度也受Caatinga特有的季节气候的影响。这种物候模式表明，所研究的植物物种可能寄主具有单行生命周期（一年一代）的胆囊诱导昆虫。Caatinga具有明显的环境季节性，具有明显的干湿期特征，反映在研究系统的物候响应中。我们的研究结果表明，由于它们与Caatinga生物群系中寄主植物的特殊相互作用，胆囊诱导昆虫代表了研究物候过程的一个有价值的模型系统。

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引用次数: 0

Corrigendum to “Foliage leaf and floral bract micromorphology vary by habitat and habit in Guadua (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae)” [Flora, Volume 330, September 2025, 152767] “瓜豆（竹科：竹科：竹科）的叶片和花苞片微形态因生境和习性而异”的勘误表[植物志，330卷，2025年9月，152767]

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-11-01 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152862

Elizabeth K. McMurchie , Josephine A. Crock , Devin Molnau , Haldre S. Rogers , Dean C. Adams , Lynn G. Clark

引用次数: 0

Dehydration, programmed cell death, and developmental arrest as possible mechanisms for the transition to unisexuality in Matayba marginata (Sapindaceae) 脱水、细胞程序性死亡和发育停滞是马塔巴向雌雄同体过渡的可能机制

IF 1.8 4区生物学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Flora

Pub Date : 2025-10-30 DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152866

Maria Laura Araujo Gonçalves , Ana Tereza Araújo Rodarte , Bárbara de Sá-Haiad

Sapindaceae, order Sapindales, has a tropical and subtropical distribution. Most species of Sapindaceae are monoecious with unisexual flowers. Dioecy is rare in the family, but has been recorded for some species. The genus Matayba Aubl. contains tree species, mostly monoecious but with some exceptions, such as M. marginata Radlk., a dioecious Brazilian tree. The present study investigated the structure and development of pistillate and staminate flowers of this species, evaluating the functionality of the reproductive whorls. Pistillate flowers have staminodes with indehiscent anthers, containing pollen grains at the binucleate microgametophyte stage; the anther wall has epidermis, endothecium, middle layers with compressed cells, and a tapetum with thin-walled cells with cytoplasmic retraction; the parenchymatic interlocular septum has compressed cells. In staminate flowers, pistillodes may show an ovary wall with collapsed parenchymatic and epidermal cells; a stigma with less-conspicuous papillae; a short style with less-developed transmitting tissue; and inviable ovules with juvenile characteristics. Our results suggested that failures in the processes of dehydration and programmed cell death of the anther tissues in staminodes are responsible for male sterility in pistillate flowers of M. marginata, and that arrested ovule development may be responsible for the female sterility of staminate flowers. Therefore, we suggest that failures in the dehydration and PCD processes cause male sterility in the pistillate flowers, and that ovule arrested development in staminate flowers of M. marginata may indicate possible mechanisms for achieving the transition to unisexuality, in both dioecious and monoecious Sapindaceae species.

皂荚科，皂荚目，分布于热带和亚热带。大多数皂荚科植物是雌雄同株，花单性。雌雄异株在该科中很少见，但在某些物种中有记录。马泰巴属。包含树种，主要是雌雄同株，但也有一些例外，如M. marginata Radlk。一种雌雄异株的巴西乔木。本研究对该植物雌蕊花和雄蕊花的结构和发育进行了研究，并对生殖轮系的功能进行了评价。雌蕊花有雄蕊，花药不裂，在双核小配子体时期含有花粉粒；花药壁有表皮、内壁、有压缩细胞的中间层和有细胞质收缩的薄壁细胞的绒毡层；实质室间隔有受压细胞。在雄蕊花中，雌蕊可显示子房壁，实质细胞和表皮细胞塌陷；一柱头具较不明显的乳头；花柱具有较不发达的传递组织的短花柱；和具有幼胚特征的不可活胚珠。研究结果表明，雄蕊雄蕊花的雄性不育可能与雄蕊花脱水过程失败和细胞程序性死亡有关，而雄蕊花的雌性不育可能与胚珠发育受阻有关。因此，我们认为脱水和PCD过程的失败导致雌蕊花的雄性不育，而在M. marginata的雄蕊花中，胚珠发育阻滞可能表明了在雌雄异株和雌雄同株的皂科物种中实现向雌雄同株过渡的可能机制。

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引用次数: 0

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