Climate warming and atmospheric deposition affect seed viability of common juniper (Juniperus communis) via their impact on the nutrient status of the plant
- Author
- Robert Gruwez (UGent) , Pieter De Frenne (UGent) , An De Schrijver (UGent) , Pieter Vangansbeke (UGent) and Kris Verheyen (UGent)
- Organization
- Abstract
- Global environmental change is increasingly affecting species worldwide. One of the emblematic casualties among plants in several European countries is common juniper (Juniperus communis). Many populations of common juniper throughout its distribution range are declining. The relative lack of viable seed production, resulting in low probabilities for successful natural regeneration, is one of the main reasons for this decline. Climate warming and elevated atmospheric depositions have been shown to negatively affect seed viability of common juniper, but our understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains scarce. One possible pathway is via changes in the plant nutrient status that, in turn, may affect seed viability. Here we took advantage of large-scale gradients in climate and atmospheric depositions between central Sweden and northern Spain, and analysed foliar nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry and seed viability in 20 juniper populations spread across Europe. Our results show that increasing temperatures can negatively affect needle N and P concentrations while enhanced potentially acidifying depositions resulted in lower foliar N and Ca concentrations. Needle C:N ratios increased with higher temperature, acidifying depositions and precipitation. By linking these patterns to seed viability, we found that low needle P, Ca and Mg concentrations were related to low seed viability. Thus, a shortage of these key elements during seed development and seed nutrient storage, can lead to anomalies and seed abortion. These findings help to explain the low seed viability of juniper in Europe and may help to assist land managers to take urgently needed conservation actions.
- Keywords
- Juniperus communis, Seed viability, Global change ecology, Stoichiometry, Climate change, NITROGEN DEPOSITION, TRANSPLANT EXPERIMENTS, LATITUDINAL GRADIENT, LEAF-NITROGEN, FOREST HERBS, TEMPERATURE, QUALITY, FOLIAR, GROWTH, VEGETATION
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8505952
- MLA
- Gruwez, Robert, et al. “Climate Warming and Atmospheric Deposition Affect Seed Viability of Common Juniper (Juniperus Communis) via Their Impact on the Nutrient Status of the Plant.” ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH, vol. 32, no. 2, 2017, pp. 135–44, doi:10.1007/s11284-016-1422-3.
- APA
- Gruwez, R., De Frenne, P., De Schrijver, A., Vangansbeke, P., & Verheyen, K. (2017). Climate warming and atmospheric deposition affect seed viability of common juniper (Juniperus communis) via their impact on the nutrient status of the plant. ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH, 32(2), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1422-3
- Chicago author-date
- Gruwez, Robert, Pieter De Frenne, An De Schrijver, Pieter Vangansbeke, and Kris Verheyen. 2017. “Climate Warming and Atmospheric Deposition Affect Seed Viability of Common Juniper (Juniperus Communis) via Their Impact on the Nutrient Status of the Plant.” ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH 32 (2): 135–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1422-3.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Gruwez, Robert, Pieter De Frenne, An De Schrijver, Pieter Vangansbeke, and Kris Verheyen. 2017. “Climate Warming and Atmospheric Deposition Affect Seed Viability of Common Juniper (Juniperus Communis) via Their Impact on the Nutrient Status of the Plant.” ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH 32 (2): 135–144. doi:10.1007/s11284-016-1422-3.
- Vancouver
- 1.Gruwez R, De Frenne P, De Schrijver A, Vangansbeke P, Verheyen K. Climate warming and atmospheric deposition affect seed viability of common juniper (Juniperus communis) via their impact on the nutrient status of the plant. ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH. 2017;32(2):135–44.
- IEEE
- [1]R. Gruwez, P. De Frenne, A. De Schrijver, P. Vangansbeke, and K. Verheyen, “Climate warming and atmospheric deposition affect seed viability of common juniper (Juniperus communis) via their impact on the nutrient status of the plant,” ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 135–144, 2017.
@article{8505952, abstract = {{Global environmental change is increasingly affecting species worldwide. One of the emblematic casualties among plants in several European countries is common juniper (Juniperus communis). Many populations of common juniper throughout its distribution range are declining. The relative lack of viable seed production, resulting in low probabilities for successful natural regeneration, is one of the main reasons for this decline. Climate warming and elevated atmospheric depositions have been shown to negatively affect seed viability of common juniper, but our understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains scarce. One possible pathway is via changes in the plant nutrient status that, in turn, may affect seed viability. Here we took advantage of large-scale gradients in climate and atmospheric depositions between central Sweden and northern Spain, and analysed foliar nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry and seed viability in 20 juniper populations spread across Europe. Our results show that increasing temperatures can negatively affect needle N and P concentrations while enhanced potentially acidifying depositions resulted in lower foliar N and Ca concentrations. Needle C:N ratios increased with higher temperature, acidifying depositions and precipitation. By linking these patterns to seed viability, we found that low needle P, Ca and Mg concentrations were related to low seed viability. Thus, a shortage of these key elements during seed development and seed nutrient storage, can lead to anomalies and seed abortion. These findings help to explain the low seed viability of juniper in Europe and may help to assist land managers to take urgently needed conservation actions.}}, author = {{Gruwez, Robert and De Frenne, Pieter and De Schrijver, An and Vangansbeke, Pieter and Verheyen, Kris}}, issn = {{0912-3814}}, journal = {{ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH}}, keywords = {{Juniperus communis,Seed viability,Global change ecology,Stoichiometry,Climate change,NITROGEN DEPOSITION,TRANSPLANT EXPERIMENTS,LATITUDINAL GRADIENT,LEAF-NITROGEN,FOREST HERBS,TEMPERATURE,QUALITY,FOLIAR,GROWTH,VEGETATION}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{2}}, pages = {{135--144}}, title = {{Climate warming and atmospheric deposition affect seed viability of common juniper (Juniperus communis) via their impact on the nutrient status of the plant}}, url = {{http://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-016-1422-3}}, volume = {{32}}, year = {{2017}}, }
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