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Plastic and genetic responses of a common sedge to warming have contrasting effects on carbon cycle processes
- Source :
- Ecology Letters, 22 (1), Walker, T, Weckwerth, W, Bragazza, L, Fragner, L, Forde, B G, Ostle, N J, Signarbieux, C, Sun, X, Ward, S E & Bardgett, R 2018, ' Plastic and genetic responses of a common sedge to warming have contrasting effects on carbon cycle processes ', Ecology Letters . https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13178, Ecology Letters
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Climate warming affects plant physiology through genetic adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, but little is known about how these mechanisms influence ecosystem processes. We used three elevation gradients and a reciprocal transplant experiment to show that temperature causes genetic change in the sedge Eriophorum vaginatum. We demonstrate that plants originating from warmer climate produce fewer secondary compounds, grow faster and accelerate carbon dioxide (CO2) release to the atmosphere. However, warmer climate also caused plasticity in E. vaginatum, inhibiting nitrogen metabolism, photosynthesis and growth and slowing CO2 release into the atmosphere. Genetic differentiation and plasticity in E. vaginatum thus had opposing effects on CO2 fluxes, suggesting that warming over many generations may buffer, or reverse, the shortâterm influence of this species over carbon cycle processes. Our findings demonstrate the capacity for plant evolution to impact ecosystem processes, and reveal a further mechanism through which plants will shape ecosystem responses to climate change. ISSN:1461-023X ISSN:1461-0248
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Letter
Natural selection
organic-carbon
litter decomposition
adaptation
Phenotypic plasticity
phenotypic plasticity
01 natural sciences
polymorphism
climate warming
genetic adaptation
Plant evolution
mechanisms
adaptive evolution
biology
Ecology
natural selection
Carbon cycle
Plants
Eriophorum vaginatum
intraspecific variation
climate-change
Genetic adaptation
Plastics
Climate feedbacks
Climate warming
Plant ecophysiology
Plant metabolism
Carbon cycle, climate feedbacks, climate warming, Eriophorum vaginatum, genetic adaptation, intraspecific variation, natural selection, phenotypic plasticity, plant ecophysiology, plant metabo- lism
Climate Change
Climate change
010603 evolutionary biology
Ecology and Environment
plant ecophysiology
Ecosystem
Letters
Nitrogen cycle
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
plant-soil interactions
climate feedbacks
plant metabo- lism
010604 marine biology & hydrobiology
Global warming
Ambientale
Carbon Dioxide
15. Life on land
biology.organism_classification
Carbon
plant metabolism
13. Climate action
respiration
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14610248 and 1461023X
- Volume :
- 22
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Ecology Letters
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....50a2e7681eeac55d764dc1b97caa534d