Ochoa-Alvarez Tamara C, Contreras-Negrete Gonzalo, Lara-De La Cruz Libny Ingrid, González-Rodríguez Antonio
Facultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (UMSNH), Edificio "R" Planta Baja, Ciudad Universitaria Francisco J. Múgica S/N, Morelia, Michoacán 58030, México.
Ciencias Agrogenómicas, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad León, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), León, Guanajuato, 37684, México.
AoB Plants. 2024 Dec 9;17(2):plae067. doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plae067. eCollection 2025 Feb.
Water availability is one of the essential factors that determine the distribution of plant species, as well as their ecological strategies. The study of leaf phenology, in conjunction with other leaf traits of an ecological nature, such as functional traits, makes it possible to determine the life history strategies of plant species and their variation along environmental gradients, which in turn influences the demographic rates of populations. In the present study, we analysed the effect of water availability at the landscape scale on spring leaf phenology and foliar traits such as leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf thickness (LT) in the oak species from a tropical latitude in central-western Mexico. Six sites were selected in the Cuitzeo basin, Michoacán, across a water availability gradient, ranging from 766 mm to 1145 mm of mean annual precipitation. Leaf samples were collected from 10 adult trees at each site and LT and LMA were estimated. Leaf phenology was monitored for each tree every two weeks between March and July for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022, alongside soil moisture measurements. Temperature and precipitation variables for the two study years were obtained from meteorological stations and long-term bioclimatic variables from the Worldclim database. Significant spatial and temporal variation in leaf phenology was observed. Earlier leaf development and shorter development times were observed with increased soil moisture in March and April, and with higher precipitation in October of the previous year. Also, sites with long-term higher precipitation seasonality and with lower precipitation of the warmest quarter showed longer development times. A positive association between development times and leaf thickness was also observed. shows a brevideciduous leaf phenology but with significant variation among populations, reflecting spatiotemporal mosaics of environmental and genetic variation and in covariation with leaf functional traits such as leaf thickness.
水分可利用性是决定植物物种分布及其生态策略的关键因素之一。叶片物候学研究，结合其他具有生态学性质的叶片性状，如功能性状，能够确定植物物种的生活史策略及其沿环境梯度的变化，进而影响种群的人口统计学特征。在本研究中，我们分析了景观尺度上的水分可利用性对来自墨西哥中西部热带纬度地区橡树物种春季叶片物候以及叶面积质量（LMA）和叶厚度（LT）等叶片性状的影响。在米却肯州的库伊特泽奥盆地选取了六个地点，这些地点跨越了从年平均降水量766毫米到1145毫米的水分可利用性梯度。在每个地点从10棵成年树上采集叶片样本，并估算LT和LMA。在2021年和2022年连续两年的3月至7月期间，每两周对每棵树的叶片物候进行监测，同时测量土壤湿度。两个研究年份的温度和降水变量来自气象站，长期生物气候变量来自世界气候数据库。观察到叶片物候存在显著的空间和时间变化。在3月和4月土壤湿度增加以及前一年10月降水量较高时，观察到叶片发育提前且发育时间缩短。此外，长期降水季节性较高且最暖季度降水量较低的地点显示出发育时间较长。还观察到发育时间与叶厚度之间存在正相关关系。显示出一种短落叶的叶片物候，但种群间存在显著差异，反映了环境和遗传变异的时空镶嵌以及与叶厚度等叶片功能性状的协变关系。
