Hemiepiphytic figs kill their host trees: acquiring phosphorus is a driving factor
| العنوان: | Hemiepiphytic figs kill their host trees: acquiring phosphorus is a driving factor |
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| المؤلفون: | Yu‐Xuan Mo, Richard T. Corlett, Gang Wang, Liang Song, Hua‐Zheng Lu, Yi Wu, Guang‐You Hao, Ren‐Yi Ma, Shi‐Zheng Men, Yuan Li, Wen‐Yao Liu |
| المصدر: | New Phytologist. 236:714-728 |
| بيانات النشر: | Wiley, 2022. |
| سنة النشر: | 2022 |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: | Plant Leaves, Soil, Physiology, Wasps, Animals, Phosphorus, Plant Science, Ficus, Trees |
| الوصف: | Hemiepiphytic figs killing their host trees is an ecological process unique to the tropics. Yet the benefits and adaptive strategies of their special life history remain poorly understood. We compared leaf phosphorus (P) content data of figs and palms worldwide, and functional traits and substrate P content of hemiepiphytic figs (Ficus tinctoria), their host palm and nonhemiepiphytic conspecifics at different growth stages in a common garden. We found that leaf P content of hemiepiphytic figs and their host palms significantly decreased when they were competing for soil resources, but that of hemiepiphytic figs recovered after host death. P availability in the canopy humus and soil decreased significantly with the growth of hemiepiphytic figs. Functional trait trade-offs of hemiepiphytic figs enabled them to adapt to the P shortage while competing with their hosts. From the common garden to a global scale, the P competition caused by high P demand of figs may be a general phenomenon. Our results suggest that P competition is an important factor causing host death, except for mechanically damaging and shading hosts. Killing hosts benefits hemiepiphytic figs by reducing interspecific P competition and better acquiring P resources in the P-deficient tropics, thereby linking the life history strategy of hemiepiphytic figs to the widespread P shortage in tropical soils. |
| تدمد: | 1469-8137 0028-646X |
| URL الوصول: | https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::22e2495354f4661d87f7b05da99e3ae2 https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18367 |
| حقوق: | CLOSED |
| رقم الأكسشن: | edsair.doi.dedup.....22e2495354f4661d87f7b05da99e3ae2 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | OpenAIRE |
| تدمد: | 14698137 0028646X |
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