Mutualism: Plant-plant Flashcards
Describe nurse plants
Adult plants that facilitate growth/development of seedlings of their own.other species
- offer favourable habitats
- adjust for light, temp, humidity and nutrients
- help avoid grazing
What are the direct positive influences between 2 plant species without participation of other orgs
- Protection from extreme temps
- Physical support from neighbouring plants
- Stabilising mobile substances
- Gain advantage of improving water retention
Indirect positive influences between 2 plant species with participation of microorgs/animals
- Reduction in grazing: toxic/non palatable species protection of neighbours
- Promotion of pollinators
- Resource transfer via mycorrhizas
- Alternating crops or growing two species at a time can cause higher yields
Stress gradient hypothesis
Increased stress in an environment = mutually supportive interactions more significant
Native interactions become less significant
E.g. deserts, tundras, arctic, salt marshes
E.g.s of how plant balances can change with environment and time
- During ecological succession, facilitation main underlying mechanism = each stage creates conditions to promote regeneration of new set of species
- Growth of shrub that facilitates establishment of a plant is eventually stopped as the plant outcompetes it
Phenotypic plasticity
Capability of individ or genotype to exhibit range of phenotypes in response to environmental variation
E.g. roots to nutrients, shoots to light
Talking trees hypothesis
Plants can produce cues to prime other plants for defence/tolerance
Creepy & causal (2015): plants interacting with kin plants yield more seeds that plants interacting with non kin members = mutual benefit/cooperation
Describe the ‘wood wide web’
Plant-plant cooperation mediated via mycorrhizal fungi
Fungus supplies trees with water/mineral nutrients
- mother trees transfer carbon to younger trees via this mechanism
- dying trees return their carbon
- fungus also takes form leaf matter
