Seed Quantity or Quality?—Reproductive Responses of Females of Two Dioecious Woody Species to Long-Term Fertilisation
Although seed quality and quantity, as well as reproductive performance are important life history stages of plants, little is known about the reproductive responses of trees to environmental changes such as increased anthropogenic deposition of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Dioecious plants are...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/6/3187 |
| Summary: | Although seed quality and quantity, as well as reproductive performance are important life history stages of plants, little is known about the reproductive responses of trees to environmental changes such as increased anthropogenic deposition of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Dioecious plants are good models with which to test the environmental impact on female or male reproductive responses individually. We analysed effects of different long-term nutritional availability on the reproductive performance of two dioecious species (<i>Taxus baccata</i> L. and <i>Juniperus communis</i> L.) characterised by different life histories. By using pot experiments with vegetatively propagated plants grown in different fertilisation conditions, we observed an increase in plant growth and strobili production but a decrease in seed efficiency. Seeds produced by fertilised plants had greater seed mass. Fertiliser addition did not change C or N content nor the C/N ratio of <i>T. baccata</i> seeds, but increased N content and the N/P ratio; however, it did lower the C/N ratio in <i>J. communis</i>. Fertilisation did not change the metabolite profile in <i>T. baccata</i> but 18 metabolites were changed in <i>J. communis</i>. The study revealed new links between species life history, environmental changes, and reproduction. The findings imply that future environmental conditions may alter both seed productivity, and quality, as well as plant reproductive behaviour. |
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| ISSN: | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |