Evolution of competitive ability and the response to nutrient availability: a resurrection study with the calcareous grassland herb, Leontodon hispidus.

ABSTRACT: Rapid environmental changes across Europe include warmer and increasingly variable temperatures, changes in soil nutrient availability, and pollinator decline. These abiotic and biotic changes can affect natural plant populations and force them to optimize resource use against competitors. To date, the evolution of competitive ability in the context of changes in nutrient availability remains understudied. In this study, we investigated whether the common calcareous grassland herb Leontodon hispidus recently evolved its competitive ability and response to nutrient availability. We compared ancestors sampled in 1995 and descendants sampled in 2018 and applied a competition treatment in combination with weekly nutrient treatments (no fertilizer, nitrogen, phosphorus, and both). We found evid

SUBMITTER: Karitter P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11700050 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature