10.5061/DRYAD.FBG79CNWT
Herben, Tomas
0000-0002-6636-0012
Czech Academy of Sciences
Mašková, Tereza
0000-0001-8386-5146
Charles University
Hoskova, Kristyna
Charles University
Koubek, Tomas
0000-0002-3021-7484
Charles University
Shoot senescence in perennials of seasonal habitats: Comparative analysis
of a large set of species
Dryad
dataset
2022
Plant development and life-history traits
senescence pace
senescence shape
Specific leaf area
leaf dry matter content
senescence synchrony
species niche
FOS: Biological sciences
Czech Science Foundation
https://ror.org/01pv73b02
19-13231S
2022-03-07T00:00:00Z
2022-03-07T00:00:00Z
en
19715 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
1. Senescence in plants is a hierarchical process affecting all their body
parts from cells to whole organisms. Here we aim to fill the gap between
the existing knowledge on leaf senescence and rapidly accumulating
evidence on whole-plant senescence by addressing patterns and drivers of
shoot senescence of herbaceous plants. This is a key process that
determines photosynthetic gain late in the season and economy of
soil-borne nutrients in seasonal climate. 2. We present a comparative
study of 231 temperate species, ranging from spring ephemeroids to species
senescing in late autumn, in a common botanical garden collection, thus
minimizing difference in environmental drivers affecting individual
species. We assessed senescence by measuring size decline in the later
part of the season. 3. There were two main directions of variation in
senescence trajectories: rate-date axis, separating early and fast
senescing species from late and slowly senescing species, and the
shape-asynchrony axis separating species with accelerating and
synchronised senescence from non-accelerating senescence asynchronous
among individual shoots. While accelerating senescence late in the season
can be due to environmental harshness (frost), accelerating senescence
early in the season is likely to be an indication of an active process. 4.
As expected, rate and shape of shoot senescence were associated both with
leaf- and shoot-level traits. Species having leaves with high dry matter
content senesced linearly and showed higher asynchrony among individual
senescing shoots. Species with larger specific leaf area tended to senesce
earlier and faster, and in synchronous and accelerating manner. Tall
plants senesced later and in a more synchronous and accelerating manner.
5. Species from different habitats varied in their senescence patterns. We
confirmed the hypothesis that forest species postpone their senescence
relative to open-habitats species, presumably to boost their
photosynthetic balance, but did not confirm the hypothesis that plants
from nutrient-poor habitats senesce earlier to retain soil-borne nutrients
before the advent of frost. 6. Synthesis. We show that while leaf
senescence scales up to contribute to shoot senescence, shoot senescence
has its additional independent drivers and is a phenomenon in its own
right with clear environmental drivers.