Age Determination and Growth Characteristics of the Potentilla griffithii: A Comparison of Two Different Habitats in Western Sichuan Plateau, China

This study proposes a rapid and non-destructive technique for determining the age of Potentilla griffithii individuals in the field by observing the sequence of leaf scars. Based on two- to three-year-old P. griffithii seedlings, planted in a common garden in the western Sichuan Plateau, China, the study found that the rates of basal leaf production were consistent, with leaves growing from March to April and falling off from October to December, leaving behind basal leaf scars. Thus, the age of individuals in situ could be determined by counting the leaf scars. Through this method, we determined the age structure and growth strategy of P. griffithii populations in two typical habitats in the western Sichuan Plateau. In open land habitats, the age structure of P. griffithii populations was relatively younger compared to understory habitats. In open land, P. griffithii tends to allocate more photosynthate terminal organs (leaves and fine roots) to absorbing more resources, as well as to its reproductive organs (flower stems and aggregate fruits), to expand the population. The P. griffithii population in the understory habitat is in its middle-age stage and concentrates more photosynthate in the coarse root part (e.g., the high coarse root mass fraction (FRMF)) to support the plant. Additionally, we found a significant correlation between P. griffithii plant age and various traits in open land habitats. Therefore, we conclude that plant age can be used as a good predictor of plant growth condition in open land. These results allow for predicting ecological processes, based on the ages and traits of P. griffithii plants, providing a theoretical basis to support the large-scale breeding of P. griffithii.

[1]  Darren B. Sutton,et al.  Glandular trichome development, morphology, and maturation are influenced by plant age and genotype in high THC-containing cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) inflorescences , 2023, Journal of Cannabis Research.

[2]  I. Steffan‐Dewenter,et al.  Plant age at the time of ozone exposure affects flowering patterns, biotic interactions and reproduction of wild mustard , 2021, Scientific Reports.

[3]  M. R. Pace,et al.  A global review on wood growth rings in lianas , 2021, Dendrochronologia.

[4]  J. Johnstone.  Alpine Plant Life: Functional Plant Ecology of High Mountain Ecosystems. By Christian Körner , 2021, Mountain Research and Development.

[5]  K. Hikosaka,et al.  Leaf density and chemical composition explain variation in leaf mass area with spectral composition among 11 widespread forbs in a common garden. , 2021, Physiologia plantarum.

[6]  Ellen I. Damschen,et al.  Plant age affects intraspecific variation in functional traits , 2021, Plant Ecology.

[7]  M. L. McCormack,et al.  Functionally divergent growth, biomass allocation and root distribution of two xerophytic species in response to varying soil rock fragment content , 2021, Plant and Soil.

[8]  M. Hirota,et al.  Photosynthetic Properties of Miscanthus condensatus at Volcanically Devastated Sites on Miyake-jima Island , 2020, Plants.

[9]  H. Lambers,et al.  Ontogenetic shifts in plant ecological strategies , 2018, Functional Ecology.

[10]  Cyrille Violle,et al.  Allocation, morphology, physiology, architecture: the multiple facets of plant above- and below-ground responses to resource stress. , 2018, The New phytologist.

[11]  J. Fornoni,et al.  Ontogenetic changes in the phenotypic integration and modularity of leaf functional traits , 2018 .

[12]  C. Fankhauser,et al.  Plant Strategies for Enhancing Access to Sunlight , 2017, Current Biology.

[13]  S. Zahedi,et al.  Effect of far-red light, temperature, and plant age on morphological changes and induction of flowering of a ‘June-bearing’ strawberry , 2016, Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology.

[14]  J. Cornelissen,et al.  Integrated plant phenotypic responses to contrasting above- and below-ground resources: key roles of specific leaf area and root mass fraction. , 2015, The New phytologist.

[15]  L. Donovan,et al.  Does investment in leaf defenses drive changes in leaf economic strategy? A focus on whole-plant ontogeny , 2015, Oecologia.

[16]  P. Reich.  The world‐wide ‘fast–slow’ plant economics spectrum: a traits manifesto , 2014 .

[17]  P. Adler,et al.  When should plant population models include age structure? , 2014 .

[18]  Richard J Hobbs,et al.  Specific leaf area responses to environmental gradients through space and time. , 2014, Ecology.

[19]  D. Shtienberg,et al.  Effects of plant age on disease development and virulence of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis on tomato , 2013 .

[20]  L. Donovan,et al.  Ontogeny strongly and differentially alters leaf economic and other key traits in three diverse Helianthus species. , 2013, Journal of experimental botany.

[21]  B. Muller,et al.  Coming of leaf age: control of growth by hydraulics and metabolics during leaf ontogeny. , 2012, The New phytologist.

[22]  P. Senthilkumar,et al.  Interaction of cadmium and zinc on accumulation and sub-cellular distribution in leaves of hyperaccumulator Potentilla griffithii. , 2011, Journal of hazardous materials.

[23]  D. Taub,et al.  Interactive effects of elevated carbon dioxide and environmental stresses on root mass fraction in plants: a meta-analytical synthesis using pairwise techniques , 2010, Oecologia.

[24]  H. Maherali,et al.  The adaptive significance of ontogenetic changes in physiology: a test in Avena barbata. , 2009, The New phytologist.

[25]  P. Senthilkumar,et al.  Tolerance, accumulation and distribution of zinc and cadmium in hyperaccumulator Potentilla griffithii , 2009 .

[26]  M. Tomczyk,et al.  Potentilla--a review of its phytochemical and pharmacological profile. , 2009, Journal of ethnopharmacology.

[27]  David D. Ackerly,et al.  Community assembly and shifts in plant trait distributions across an environmental gradient in coastal California , 2009 .

[28]  R. Zamora,et al.  Biomass allocation and growth responses of Scots pine saplings to simulated herbivory depend on plant age and light availability , 2008, Plant Ecology.

[29]  R. Qiu,et al.  [Kinetic characteristics of Zn uptake by Potentilla griffithii Hook. f. var. velutina Card]. , 2008, Ying yong sheng tai xue bao = The journal of applied ecology.

[30]  Sébastien Lê,et al.  FactoMineR: An R Package for Multivariate Analysis , 2008 .

[31]  C. Lusk,et al.  Global meta-analysis shows that relationships of leaf mass per area with species shade tolerance depend on leaf habit and ontogeny. , 2007, The New phytologist.

[32]  R. Qiu,et al.  Zinc Hyperaccumulation and Uptake by Potentilla Griffithii Hook , 2006, International journal of phytoremediation.

[33]  M. Burd,et al.  Age-size plasticity for reproduction in monocarpic plants. , 2006, Ecology.

[34]  G. Mauromicale,et al.  Chlorophyll fluorescence and chlorophyll content in field-grown potato as affected by nitrogen supply, genotype, and plant age , 2006, Photosynthetica.

[35]  U. Niinemets.  Key plant structural and allocation traits depend on relative age in the perennial herb Pimpinella saxifraga. , 2005, Annals of botany.

[36]  R. Marquis,et al.  Facing herbivory as you grow up: the ontogeny of resistance in plants. , 2005, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[37]  A. Winn,et al.  Relationships among growth, development and plastic response to environment quality in a perennial plant. , 2005, The New phytologist.

[38]  H. Dietz,et al.  CLIMATIC FLUCTUATION CAUSES LARGE-SCALE SYNCHRONOUS VARIATION IN RADIAL ROOT INCREMENTS OF PERENNIAL FORBS , 2005 .

[39]  Hans Beeckman,et al.  Growth rings, growth ring formation and age determination in the mangrove Rhizophora mucronata. , 2004, Annals of botany.

[40]  Ü. Niinemets.  Adaptive adjustments to light in foliage and whole-plant characteristics depend on relative age in the perennial herb Leontodon hispidus. , 2004, The New phytologist.

[41]  S. Clark,et al.  CAN OAKS BE AGED FROM BUD SCARS? , 2004 .

[42]  J. Olesen,et al.  Flower production in relation to individual plant age and leaf production among different patches of Corydalis intermedia , 2004, Plant Ecology.

[43]  Sean C. Thomas,et al.  The worldwide leaf economics spectrum , 2004, Nature.

[44]  Christopher Uhl,et al.  Leaf demography and phenology in Amazonian rain forest : a census of 40,000 leaves of 23 tree species , 2004 .

[45]  L. Marcelis,et al.  Non-destructive estimation of leaf area for different plant ages and accessions of Capsicum annuum L. , 2004 .

[46]  U. Berger,et al.  Annual growth rings and long-term growth patterns of mangrove trees from the Bragança peninsula, North Brazil , 2003, Wetlands Ecology and Management.

[47]  Stephen J. Wright,et al.  Decline of photosynthetic capacity with leaf age and position in two tropical pioneer tree species. , 2002, American journal of botany.

[48]  H. Dietz,et al.  Comparative analysis of growth rings in perennial forbs grown in an Alpine restoration experiment. , 2002, Annals of botany.

[49]  B. Shipley,et al.  The balanced‐growth hypothesis and the allometry of leaf and root biomass allocation , 2002 .

[50]  F. Schweingruber,et al.  Annual rings in native and introduced forbs of lower Michigan, U.S.A. , 2002 .

[51]  F. Scarano,et al.  Periodicity of growth rings in some flood-prone trees of the Atlantic Rain Forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , 2001, Trees.

[52]  Dennis D. Baldocchi,et al.  Leaf age affects the seasonal pattern of photosynthetic capacity and net ecosystem exchange of carbon in a deciduous forest , 2001 .

[53]  F. A. Bazzaz,et al.  Changes in drought response strategies with ontogeny in Quercus rubra: implications for scaling from seedlings to mature trees , 2000, Oecologia.

[54]  G. MacDonald,et al.  A Dendroclimatic Reconstruction of Annual Precipitation on the Western Canadian Prairies since A.D. 1505 from Pinus flexilis James , 1995, Quaternary Research.

[55]  N. Stamp,et al.  EFFECTS OF PLANT AGE, GENOTYPE, AND HERBIVORY ON PLANTAGO PERFORMANCE AND CHEMISTRY' , 1993 .

[56]  K. Oyama.  Are age and height correlated in Chamaedorea tepejilote (Palmae)? , 1993, Journal of Tropical Ecology.

[57]  S. Kalisz,et al.  The relationship between age, size, and reproduction in Trillium grandiflorum (Liliaceae) , 1993 .

[58]  N. Duke,et al.  Aging Rhizophora seedlings from leaf scar nodes: a technique for studying recruitment and growth in mangrove forests , 1992 .

[59]  P. Reich,et al.  Leaf Life‐Span in Relation to Leaf, Plant, and Stand Characteristics among Diverse Ecosystems , 1992 .

[60]  P. Reich,et al.  Leaf age and season influence the relationships between leaf nitrogen, leaf mass per area and photosynthesis in maple and oak trees , 1991 .

[61]  T. C. Whitmore,et al.  Canopy Gaps and the Two Major Groups of Forest Trees , 1989 .

[62]  D. Tilman.  Plant Strategies and the Dynamics and Structure of Plant Communities. (MPB-26), Volume 26 , 1988 .

[63]  H. Mooney,et al.  Leaf age and seasonal effects on light, water, and nitrogen use efficiency in a California shrub , 1983, Oecologia.

[64]  O. Smirnova,et al.  Age states of plants of various growth forms: a review. , 1980 .

[65]  R. O. Erickson,et al.  Analysis of leaf development , 1973 .

[66]  P. Reich,et al.  Biomass allocation to leaves, stems and roots: meta-analyses of interspecific variation and environmental control. , 2012, The New phytologist.

[67]  P. Poschlod,et al.  Growth Rings in Herbs and Shrubs: life span, age determination and stem anatomy , 2005 .

[68]  N. Martinelli.  Climate from dendrochronology: latest developments and results , 2004 .

[69]  F. Schweingruber,et al.  Age analysis helps to estimate plant performance on ski pistes , 2004 .

[70]  M. Austin.  Plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant communities , 1989 .

[71]  H. Mooney,et al.  Resource Limitation in Plants-An Economic Analogy , 1985 .