Community phylogenetic diversity drives flowering synchrony among coexisting plant species even under drought conditions.

ABSTRACT: Flowering time is a critical event in the lifetime of angiosperms, being particularly sensitive to environmental conditions, although the range of flowering response should be ultimately constrained by evolutionary history. We hypothesize that (1) phylogenetically diverse assemblages exhibit more segregated flowering peaks due to lineage-specific constraints, while closely related assemblages show synchronized flowering, and (2) under drought conditions, phenotypic plasticity most likely increase flowering overlap, though this response may depend on species' phylogenetic relatedness in the assemblage. We designed assemblages with annual plants of semiarid systems of Spain, considering two contrasted levels of phylogenetic diversity (PD) and two water availability treatments in a common gar

SUBMITTER: Luzuriaga AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12287306 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature