Browsing by Author "Oleksyn, Jacek"

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Adaptation to changing environment in Scots pine populations across a latitudinal gradient
(1998) Oleksyn, Jacek; Tjoelker, Mark G; Reich, Peter B
In several growth chamber and field experiments we examined the growth response of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) populations from a wide latitudinal range to temperature and photoperiod. The duration of the shoot elongation period of one-year-old seedlings was affected by temperature and photoperiod. In contrasting temperatures, 23/20 °C, 20/17 °C, and 17/14 °C (day/night), shoot elongation period for all populations was shortest in the high and longest in the low temperature treatments. The northern populations from 61–57°N ceased height growth earlier than the other populations in the southern 50°N photoperiod. The order of growth cessation among populations at 50°N in the chamber experiment and at 52°N in the field experiment was similar and related to observed population differences in terminal leader growth and total tree height. Since the length of growing season is under strong environmentally-mediated genetic control in Scots pine, potential climatic changes such as increasing temperature will probably alter the length and timing of growth in aboveground tree parts, but likely in the opposite direction (a shorter growing season) than has been often hypothesized (a longer growing season). Tree-ring analyses of a provenance experiment established in 1912 indicate that the main climatic factors that limited ring-width growth in Scots pine were air temperatures in the winter months of December through March. Low winter temperatures were followed by the formation of narrow rings over the next summer. Based on responses to temperature, Scots pine populations from the continuous European range can be divided in several geographic groups along a latitudinal gradient. Our results suggest that in developing new models to predict the response of Scots pine to changing environmental conditions, it is necessary to include intraspecific differentiation in acclimation and adaptation to environmental factors.
Biological scaling: Does the exception prove the rule? (Reply)
(Nature Publishing Group, 2007) Reich, Peter B; Tjoelker, Mark G; Machado, Jose-Luis; Oleksyn, Jacek
Comparisons of structure and life span in roots and leaves among temperate trees
(2006) Withington, Jennifer M; Reich, Peter B; Oleksyn, Jacek; Eissenstat, David M
lobal data sets provide strong evidence of convergence for leaf structure with leaf longevity such that species having thick leaves, low specific leaf area, low mass-based nitrogen concentrations, and low photosynthetic rates typically exhibit long leaf life span. Leaf longevity and corresponding leaf structure have also been widely linked to plant potential growth rate, plant competition, and nutrient cycling. We hypothesized that selection forces leading to variation in leaf longevity and leaf structure have acted simultaneously and in similar directions on the longevity and structure of the finest root orders. Our four-year study investigated the links between root and leaf life span and root and leaf structure among 11 north-temperate tree species in a common garden in central Poland. Study species included the hardwoods Acer pseudoplatanus L., Acer platanoides L., Fagus sylvatica L., Quercus robur L., and Tilia cordata Mill.; and the conifers Abies alba Mill., Larix decidua Mill., Picea abies (L.) Karst., Pinus nigra Arnold, Pinus sylvestris L., and Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco. Leaf life span, estimated by phenological observations and needle cohort measurements, ranged from 0.5 to 8 yr among species. Median fine-root life span, estimated using minirhizotron images of individual roots, ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 yr among species. Root life span was not correlated with leaf life span, but specific root length was significantly correlated with specific leaf area. Root nitrogen : carbon ratio was negatively correlated with root longevity, which corroborates previous research that has suggested a trade-off between organ life span and higher organ N concentrations. Specific traits such as thickened outer tangential walls of the exodermis were better predictors of long-lived roots than tissue density or specific root length, which have been correlated with life span in previous studies. Although theories linking organ structure and function suggest that similar root and leaf traits should be linked to life span and that root and leaf life span should be positively correlated, our results suggest that tissue structure and longevity aboveground (leaves) can contrast markedly with that belowground (roots).
Decomposition of the finest root branching orders: Linking belowground dynamics to fine-root function and structure
(2011) Goebel, Marc; Hobbie, Sarah E; Bulaj, Bartosz; Zadworny, Marcin; Archibald, Douglas D; Oleksyn, Jacek; Reich, Peter B; Eissenstat, David M
Root turnover is fastest in the finest roots of the root system (first root order). Additionally, tissue chemistry varies among even the finest root orders and between white roots and older, pigmented roots. Yet the effects of pigmentation and order on root decomposition have rarely been examined. We separated the first four root orders (all <1 mm) of four temperate tree species into three classes: white first- and second-order roots; pigmented first- and second-order roots; and pigmented third- and fourth-order roots. Roots were enclosed in litterbags and buried under their own and under a common species canopy in a 34-year-old common garden in Poland. When comparing decomposition of different root orders over 36 months, pigmented third- and fourth-order roots with a higher C:N ratio decomposed more rapidly, losing 20–40% of their mass, than pigmented first- and second-order roots, which lost no more than 20%. When comparing decomposition of roots of different levels of pigmentation within the same root order over 14 months, pigmented (older) first- and second-order roots lost ∼10% of their mass, while white (younger) first- and second-order roots lost ∼30%. In contrast to root mass loss, root N content declined more rapidly in the first- and second-order roots than in third- and fourth-order roots. In higher-order roots, N increased in the first 10 months from ∼110% to nearly 150% of initial N content, depending on species; by the end of the study N content had returned to initial levels. These findings suggest that, in plant communities where root mortality is primarily of pigmented first- and second-order roots, microbial decomposition may be slower than estimates derived from bulk fine-root litterbag experiments, which typically contain at least four root orders. Thus, a more mechanistic understanding of root decomposition and its contribution to ecosystem carbon and nutrient dynamics requires a fundamental shift in experimental methods that stratifies root samples for decomposition along more functionally based criteria such as root order and pigmentation, which parallel the markedly different longevities of these different root classes.
Do evergreen and deciduous tree differ in their effects on soil nitrogen availability
(Ecological Society of America, 2012) Mueller, Kevin E; Hobbie, Sarah E; Oleksyn, Jacek; Reich, Peter B; Eissenstat, David M
Evergreen and deciduous plants are widely expected to have different impacts on soil nitrogen (N) availability because of differences in leaf litter chemistry and ensuing effects on net N mineralization (Nmin). We evaluated this hypothesis by compiling published data on net Nmin rates beneath co-occurring stands of evergreen and deciduous trees. The compiled data included 35 sets of co-occurring stands in temperate and boreal forests. Evergreen and deciduous stands did not have consistently divergent effects on net Nmin rates; net Nmin beneath deciduous trees was higher when comparing natural stands (19 contrasts), but equivalent to evergreens in plantations (16 contrasts). We also compared net Nmin rates beneath pairs of co-occurring genera. Most pairs of genera did not differ consistently, i.e., tree species from one genus had higher net Nmin at some sites and lower net Nmin at other sites. Moreover, several common deciduous genera (Acer, Betula, Populus) and deciduous Quercus spp. did not typically have higher net Nmin rates than common evergreen genera (Pinus, Picea). There are several reasons why tree effects on net Nmin are poorly predicted by leaf habit and phylogeny. For example, the amount of N mineralized from decomposing leaves might be less than the amount of N mineralized from organic matter pools that are less affected by leaf litter traits, such as dead roots and soil organic matter. Also, effects of plant traits and plant groups on net Nmin probably depend on site-specific factors such as stand age and soil type.
Global patterns of plant leaf N and P in relation to temperature and latitude
(National Academy of Sciences, 2004) Reich, Peter B; Oleksyn, Jacek
The discovery of the genes psbA and psbD, encoding the D1 and D2 core components of the photosynthetic reaction center PSII (photosystem II), in the genome of the bacteriophage S-PM2 (a cyanomyovirus) that infects marine cyanobacteria begs the question as to how these genes were acquired. In an attempt to answer this question, it was established that the occurrence of the genes is widespread among marine cyanomyovirus isolates and may even extend to podoviruses. The phage psbA genes fall into a clade that includes the psbA genes from their potential Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus hosts, and thus, this phylogenetic analysis provides evidence to support the idea of the acquisition of these genes by horizontal gene transfer from their cyanobacterial hosts. However, the phage psbA genes form distinct subclades within this lineage, which suggests that their acquisition was not very recent. The psbA genes of two phages contain identical 212-bp insertions that exhibit all of the canonical structural features of a group I self-splicing intron. The different patterns of genetic organization of the psbAD region are consistent with the idea that the psbA and psbD genes were acquired more than once by cyanomyoviruses and that their horizontal transfer between phages via a common phage gene pool, as part of mobile genetic modules, may be a continuing process. In addition, genes were discovered encoding a high-light inducible protein and a putative key enzyme of dark metabolism, transaldolase, extending the areas of host-cell metabolism that may be affected by phage infection.
How does biomass distribution change with size and differ among species? An analysis for 1200 plant species from five continents
(Elsevier, 2015) Poorter, Hendrik; Jagodzinski, Andrzej M; Oleksyn, Jacek; Ruiz-Peinado, Ricardo; Kuyah, Shem; Luo, Yunjian; Reich, Peter B; Usoltsev, Vladimir A; Buckley, Thomas N; Sack, Lawren
We compiled a global database for leaf, stem and root biomass representing c. 11 000 records for c. 1200 herbaceous and woody species grown under either controlled or field conditions. We used this data set to analyse allometric relationships and fractional biomass distribution to leaves, stems and roots. We tested whether allometric scaling exponents are generally constant across plant sizes as predicted by metabolic scaling theory, or whether instead they change dynamically with plant size. We also quantified interspecific variation in biomass distribution among plant families and functional groups. Across all species combined, leaf vs stem and leaf vs root scaling exponents decreased from c. 1.00 for small plants to c. 0.60 for the largest trees considered. Evergreens had substantially higher leaf mass fractions (LMFs) than deciduous species, whereas graminoids maintained higher root mass fractions (RMFs) than eudicotyledonous herbs. These patterns do not support the hypothesis of fixed allometric exponents. Rather, continuous shifts in allometric exponents with plant size during ontogeny and evolution are the norm. Across seed plants, variation in biomass distribution among species is related more to function than phylogeny. We propose that the higher LMF of evergreens at least partly compensates for their relatively low leaf area : leaf mass ratio.
Light, earthworms, and soil resources as predictors of diversity of 10 soil invertebrate groups across monocultures of 14 tree species
(Elsevier, 2016) Mueller, Kevin E; Eisenhauer, Nico; Reich, Peter B; Hobbie, Sarah E; Chadwick, Oliver A; Chorover, Jon; Dobies, Tomasz; Hale, Cynthia M; Jagodziński, Andrzej M; Kałucka, Izabela; Kasprowicz, Marek; Kieliszewska-Rokicka, Barbara; Modrzyński, Jerzy; Rożen, Anna; Skorupski, Maciej; Sobczyk, Łukasz; Stasińska, Małgorzata; Trocha, Lidia K.; Weiner, January; Wierzbicka, Anna; Oleksyn, Jacek
Management of biodiversity and ecosystem services requires a better understanding of the factors that influence soil biodiversity. We characterized the species (or genera) richness of 10 taxonomic groups of invertebrate soil animals in replicated monocultures of 14 temperate tree species. The focal invertebrate groups ranged from microfauna to macrofauna: Lumbricidae, Nematoda, Oribatida, Gamasida, Opilionida, Araneida, Collembola, Formicidae, Carabidae, and Staphylinidae. Measurement of invertebrate richness and ancillary variables occurred ∼34 years after the monocultures were planted. The richness within each taxonomic group was largely independent of richness of other groups; therefore a broad understanding of soil invertebrate diversity requires analyses that are integrated across many taxa. Using a regression-based approach and ∼125 factors related to the abundance and diversity of resources, we identified a subset of predictors that were correlated with the richness of each invertebrate group and richness integrated across 9 of the groups (excluding earthworms). At least 50% of the variability in integrated richness and richness of each invertebrate group was explained by six or fewer predictors. The key predictors of soil invertebrate richness were light availability in the understory, the abundance of an epigeic earthworm species, the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, and calcium in soil, soil acidity, and the diversity or mass of fungi, plant litter, and roots. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that resource abundance and diversity strongly regulate soil biodiversity, with increases in resources (up to a point) likely to increase the total diversity of soil invertebrates. However, the relationships between various resources and soil invertebrate diversity were taxon-specific. Similarly, diversity of all 10 invertebrate taxa was not high beneath any of the 14 tree species. Thus, changes to tree species composition and resource availability in temperate forests will likely increase the richness of some soil invertebrates while decreasing the richness of others.
Links between root carbohydrates and seasonal pattern of soil microbial activity of diverse european populations of Pinus sylvestris grown in a provenance plantation
(Polish Botanical Society, 2003) Kaliszewska-Rokicka, Barbara; Oleksyn, Jacek; Zytkowiak, Roma; Reich, Peter B
Activity of soil dehydrogenase (DHA) was measured in the mineral soil in a forest stand of 15 to 16-year-old Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from geographically diverse populations, as an indicator of biological activity of soil microorganisms, in a provenance experiment in Poland. The pine populations originated from six European countries (Sweden, Russia, Latvia, Poland, Germany, France) and differed widely in aboveground biomass and productivity. Soil DHA during two growing seasons showed pronounced seasonal variability, which was significantly related to the fine root concentration of nonstructural carbohydrates. Higher DHA was found in soil under canopies of the central and southern European populations than in those from more northern parts of the Scots pine range. Significant positive correlation between soil DHA and aboveground tree biomass suggest that these patterns most likely resulted from differences in carbon dynamics and productivity among populations.
Needle nutrients in geographically diverse Pinus sylvestris L. populations
(2002) Oleksyn, Jacek; Reich, Peter B; Zythowiak, Roma; Karolewski, Piotr; Tjoelker, Mark G
Nutrient availability differs across climatic gradients, yet the role of genetic variation in potentially adaptive traits related to nutrient acquisition remains poorly understood. We examined needles of diverse Scots pine provenances grown under common-garden conditions throughout their entire life span. Based on similarities in nutrient concentration patterns, two groups of populations were identified. One comprised northern populations from 60° to 56° N, and another included populations from locations between 56° and 49° N. Northern populations sustained significantly higher concentrations of N, P, Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, Cu and Pb. Only K concentration was persistently lower in northern plants. We conclude that intraspecific genetic differences exist in foliage nutrient concentration among diverse populations. Since in northern conditions nutrient availability is often limited as a result of interactions between temperature, litter quality and its mineralization, a tendency toward higher foliage concentrations of macronutrients can be an adaptive feature enhancing plants metabolic activity in their native habitats.
Scots pine fine roots adjust along a 2000‐km latitudinal climatic gradient
(Wiley, 2016) Zadworny, Marcin; Mccormack, M. Luke; Mucha, Joanna; Reich, Peter B; Oleksyn, Jacek
Patterns of plant biomass allocation and functional adjustments along climatic gradients are poorly understood, particularly belowground. Generally, low temperatures suppress nutrient release and uptake, and forests under such conditions have a greater proportion of their biomass in roots. However, it is not clear whether ‘more roots’ means better capacity to acquire soil resources. Herein we quantified patterns of fine-root anatomy and their biomass distribution across Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) populations both along a 2000-km latitudinal gradient and within a common garden experiment with a similar range of populations. We found that with decreasing mean temperature, a greater percentage of Scots pine root biomass was allocated to roots with higher potential absorptive capacity. Similar results were seen in the common experimental site, where cold-adapted populations produced roots with greater absorptive capacity than populations originating from warmer climates. These results demonstrate that plants growing in or originated from colder climates have more acquisitive roots, a trait that is likely adaptive in the face of the low resource availability typical of cold soils.
Three keys to the radiation of angiosperms into freezing environments
(Nature Publishing Group, 2014) Zanne, Amy E; Tank, David C; Cornwell, William K; Eastman, Jonathan M; Smith, Stephen A; FitzJohn, Richard G; McGlinn, Daniel J; O’Meara, Brian C; Moles, Angela T; Reich, Peter B; Royer, Dana L; Soltis, Douglas E; Stevens, Peter F; Westoby, Mark; Wright, Ian J; Aarssen, Lonnie; Bertin, Robert I; Calaminus, Andre; Govaerts, Rafaël; Hemmings, Frank; Leishman, Michelle R; Oleksyn, Jacek; Soltis, Pamela S; Swenson, Nathan G; Warman, Laura; Beaulieu, Jeremy M
Early flowering plants are thought to have been woody species restricted to warm habitats1, 2, 3. This lineage has since radiated into almost every climate, with manifold growth forms4. As angiosperms spread and climate changed, they evolved mechanisms to cope with episodic freezing. To explore the evolution of traits underpinning the ability to persist in freezing conditions, we assembled a large species-level database of growth habit (woody or herbaceous; 49,064 species), as well as leaf phenology (evergreen or deciduous), diameter of hydraulic conduits (that is, xylem vessels and tracheids) and climate occupancies (exposure to freezing). To model the evolution of species’ traits and climate occupancies, we combined these data with an unparalleled dated molecular phylogeny (32,223 species) for land plants. Here we show that woody clades successfully moved into freezing-prone environments by either possessing transport networks of small safe conduits5 and/or shutting down hydraulic function by dropping leaves during freezing. Herbaceous species largely avoided freezing periods by senescing cheaply constructed aboveground tissue. Growth habit has long been considered labile6, but we find that growth habit was less labile than climate occupancy. Additionally, freezing environments were largely filled by lineages that had already become herbs or, when remaining woody, already had small conduits (that is, the trait evolved before the climate occupancy). By contrast, most deciduous woody lineages had an evolutionary shift to seasonally shedding their leaves only after exposure to freezing (that is, the climate occupancy evolved before the trait). For angiosperms to inhabit novel cold environments they had to gain new structural and functional trait solutions; our results suggest that many of these solutions were probably acquired before their foray into the cold.
Tree species effects on decomposition and forest floor dynamics in a common garden
(Ecological Society of America, 2006) Hobbie, Sarah E; Reich, Peter B; Oleksyn, Jacek; Ogdahl, Megan; Zytkowiak, Roma; Hale, Cynthia; Karolewski, Piotr
We studied the effects of tree species on leaf litter decomposition and forest floor dynamics in a common garden experiment of 14 tree species (Abies alba, Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus, Betula pendula, Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Larix decidua, Picea abies, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus robur, Quercus rubra, and Tilia cordata) in southwestern Poland. We used three simultaneous litter bag experiments to tease apart species effects on decomposition via leaf litter chemistry vs. effects on the decomposition environment. Decomposition rates of litter in its plot of origin were negatively correlated with litter lignin and positively correlated with mean annual soil temperature (MATsoil) across species. Likewise, decomposition of a common litter type across all plots was positively associated with MATsoil, and decomposition of litter from all plots in a common plot was negatively related to litter lignin but positively related to litter Ca. Taken together, these results indicate that tree species influenced microbial decomposition primarily via differences in litter lignin (and secondarily, via differences in litter Ca), with high-lignin (and low-Ca) species decomposing most slowly, and by affecting MATsoil, with warmer plots exhibiting more rapid decomposition. In addition to litter bag experiments, we examined forest floor dynamics in each plot by mass balance, since earthworms were a known component of these forest stands and their access to litter in litter bags was limited. Forest floor removal rates estimated from mass balance were positively related to leaf litter Ca (and unrelated to decay rates obtained using litter bags). Litter Ca, in turn, was positively related to the abundance of earthworms, particularly Lumbricus terrestris. Thus, while species influence microbially mediated decomposition primarily through differences in litter lignin, differences among species in litter Ca are most important in determining species effects on forest floor leaf litter dynamics among these 14 tree species, apparently because of the influence of litter Ca on earthworm activity. The overall influence of these tree species on leaf litter decomposition via effects on both microbial and faunal processing will only become clear when we can quantify the decay dynamics of litter that is translocated belowground by earthworms.
Universal scaling of respiratory metabolism, size and nitrogen in plants
(Nature Publishing Group, 2006) Reich, Peter B; Tjoelker, Mark G; Machado, Jose-Luis; Oleksyn, Jacek
The scaling of respiratory metabolism to body size in animals is considered to be a fundamental law of nature1–11, and there is substantial evidence for an approximate 3 4-power relation. Studies suggest that plant respiratory metabolism also scales as the 3 4-power of mass12–14, and that higher plant and animal scaling follow similar rules owing to the predominance of fractal-like transport networks and associated allometric scaling8–14. Here, however, using data obtained from about 500 laboratory and fieldgrown plants from 43 species and four experiments, we show that whole-plant respiration rate scales approximately isometrically (scaling exponent < 1) with total plant mass in individual experiments and has no common relation across all data. Moreover, consistent with theories about biochemically based physiological scaling15–18, isometric scaling of whole-plant respiration rate to total nitrogen content is observed within and across all data sets, with a single relation common to all data. This isometric scaling is unaffected by growth conditions including variation in light, nitrogen availability, temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration, and is similar within or among species or functional groups. These findings suggest that plants and animals follow different metabolic scaling relations, driven by distinct mechanisms.
The worldwide leaf economics spectrum
(Nature Publishing Group, 2004) Wright, Ian J; Reich, Peter B; Westoby, Mark; Ackerly, David D; Baruch, Zdravko; Bongers, Frans; Cavender-Bares, Jeannine; Chapin, Terry; Cornelissen, Johannes H C; Diemer, Matthias; Flexas, Jaume; Garnier, Eric; Groom, Philip K; Gulias, Javier; Hikosaka, Kouki; Lamont, Byron B; Lee, Tali; Lee, William; Lusk, Christopher; Midgley, Jeremy J; Navas, Marie-Laure; Niinemets, Ülo; Oleksyn, Jacek; Osada, Noriyuki; Poorter, Hendrik; Poot, Pieter; Prior, Lynda; Pyankov, Vladimir I; Roumet, Catherine; Thomas, Sean C; Tjoelker, Mark G; Veneklaas, Erik J; Villar, Rafael
Bringing together leaf trait data spanning 2,548 species and 175 sites we describe, for the first time at global scale, a universal spectrum of leaf economics consisting of key chemical, structural and physiological properties. The spectrum runs from quick to slow return on investments of nutrients and dry mass in leaves, and operates largely independently of growth form, plant functional type or biome. Categories along the spectrum would, in general, describe leaf economic variation at the global scale better than plant functional types, because functional types overlap substantially in their leaf traits. Overall, modulation of leaf traits and trait relationships by climate is surprisingly modest, although some striking and significant patterns can be seen. Reliable quantification of the leaf economics spectrum and its interaction with climate will prove valuable for modelling nutrient fluxes and vegetation boundaries under changing land-use and climate.

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