Light intensity mediates phenotypic plasticity and leaf trait regionalization in a tank bromeliad.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Phenotypic plasticity allows plants to cope with environmental variability. Plastic responses to the environment have mostly been investigated at the level of individuals (plants) but can also occur within leaves. Yet the latter have been underexplored, as leaves are often treated as functional units with no spatial structure. We investigated the effect of a strong light gradient on plant and leaf traits and examined whether different portions of a leaf show similar or differential responses to light intensity.

Methods

We measured variation in 27 morpho-anatomical and physiological traits of the rosette and leaf portions (i.e. base and apex) of the tank bromeliad Aechmea aquilega (Bromeliaceae) when naturally exposed to a marked gradient of light intensit

SUBMITTER: Lafont Rapnouil T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10667009 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature