Determinants of interspecific variation in season length of perennial herbs.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Perennial plants in seasonal climates need to optimize their carbon balance by adjusting their active season length to avoid risks of tissue loss under adverse conditions. As season length is determined by two processes, namely spring growth and senescence, it is likely to vary in response to several potentially contrasting selective forces. Here we aim to disentangle the cascade of ecological determinants of interspecific differences in season length.

Methods

We measured size trajectories in 231 species in a botanical garden. We examined correlations between their spring and autumn size changes and determined how they make up season length. We used structural equation models (SEMs) to determine how niche parameters and species traits combine in their eff

SUBMITTER: Koubek T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10583191 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature