Gheza Gabriele, Di Nuzzo Luca, Vallese Chiara, Barcella Matteo, Benesperi Renato, Giordani Paolo, Nascimbene Juri, Assini Silvia
BIOME Lab, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy.
Microorganisms. 2021 Feb 22;9(2):453. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9020453.
Terricolous lichen communities in lowlands occur especially in open dry habitats. Such communities are often dominated by species of the genus , which are very variable in morphology, reproduction strategies, and secondary metabolites. In this work, we investigated traits-environment relationships considering vegetation dynamics, substrate pH, disturbance, and climate. A total of 122 plots were surveyed in 41 acidic dry grasslands in the western Po Plain (Northern Italy). Relationships between traits and environmental variables were investigated by means of a model-based Fourth Corner Analysis. Thallus morphology and metabolites responded to vegetation dynamics, substrate pH, disturbance, and climate, whereas reproduction strategies responded only to vegetation dynamics. Traits' correlations with vegetation dynamics elucidate their colonization patterns in open dry habitats or suggest biotic interactions with bryophytes and vascular plants. In addition, correlations between metabolites and environmental factors support interpretations of their ecological roles. Our results also stress the importance of studying traits' relationships with climatic factors as an alert towards lichen reactions to climate change.
低地的地生 lichen 群落尤其出现在开阔的干燥生境中。这类群落通常由 属的物种主导，这些物种在形态、繁殖策略和次生代谢产物方面差异很大。在这项工作中，我们考虑了植被动态、基质 pH 值、干扰和气候，研究了性状与环境的关系。在波河平原西部（意大利北部）的41个酸性干旱草原中总共调查了122个样地。通过基于模型的第四角分析研究了性状与环境变量之间的关系。叶状体形态和代谢产物对植被动态、基质pH值、干扰和气候有响应，而繁殖策略仅对植被动态有响应。性状与植被动态的相关性阐明了它们在开阔干燥生境中的定殖模式，或表明了与苔藓植物和维管植物的生物相互作用。此外,代谢产物与环境因素之间的相关性支持了对其生态作用的解释。我们 的结果还强调了研究性状与气候因素关系的重要性，以此作为对 lichen 对气候变化反应的一种警示。
