Intraspecific variation in the quantity and quality of seed dispersal has important ecological and evolutionary consequences, yet it is generally ignored in favour of focussing on population mean values. As a result...
Author - William Salter
William Salter
Resprouting potential of rhizome fragments in an invasive aquatic plant
Non-native aquatic Ludwigia species from a polyploid complex are among the world’s most problematic invasive plants. A new paper in AoBP finds out why.
Control of root-knot nematode infection by rhizobacteria in tomato plants
Plants can encourage rhizobacteria to help fight of rot-knot nematodes.
Effect of simulated warming on Leymus chinensis grasslands of northeast China
Mean global temperatures have risen by almost 1°C since 1850 and are predicted to continue to rise through to the end of the century. Understanding how grasses are affected by a long-term increase in temperature is...
Resource allocation trade-offs in a mast-seeding conifer
Three key functions are required for the long-term persistence of tree populations in a landscape. Broadly speaking, trees must acquire and allocate resources to maintain or increase their biomass, to tolerate or resist...
Seedling responses to salinity of 26 Neotropical tree species
How will coastal ecosystems change when some seedling can tolerate rising tides, and others cannot?
Risk-takers and risk-avoiders: germination sensitivity to water stress in an arid zone with unpredictable rainfall
How much water does it take to turn an arid land into a hotbed of new life?
Can insights from invasion ecology promote benefits from root mutualisms in plant production?
Ramoneda et al. propose specific experimental approaches to utilize the wild ancestors of crops to determine whether crop domestication compromised the benefits derived from root microbial symbioses or not.
Thermal acclimation of plant respiration is tissue type specific
Carbon released from the land surface is one of the largest fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface, with plant respiration accounting for about half of this flux. As a result...
Cold stress tolerance genes of the wild cotton species Gossypium thurberi
Low temperatures at the start of the growing season can impair the productivity of crop species. Chilling (0 – 20°C) and freezing (< 0°C) both negatively affect plant growth and development. Cotton is an important...
Stem and leaf growth rates define the leaf size vs. number trade-off
In trees, the trade-off between leaf number and individual leaf size on current year shoots (twigs) is crucial to light interception. This relationship has consequences on leaf energy balance as well as carbon uptake at...
Drought tolerance strategies of conifer species in the northwestern US
As trees photosynthesize, using carbon from the atmosphere to grow and store energy, they also lose water to the air (transpire). During a drought, continuing to photosynthesize and transpire puts trees at risk of...
Ovule and seed production patterns in relation to flower size and floral symmetry
Animal pollinated flowers show two types of floral symmetry, actinomorphy (radial symmetry) with several planes of symmetry or zygomorphy (bilateral symmetry) with just one symmetry plane. Although these floral types...
Effects of deer exclusion on plant recovery in dune ecosystems after a severe coastal storm
The dunes of barrier islands erode during storm events but they also prevent damage to inland ecosystems. For these dunes to function in this way, vegetation recovery between storm events is essential. Characteristic of...
