Plant Biology

In this compilation you will find 14 articles on forestry to celebrate the International Year of Forests. We hope that you will find this collection of interest. Read all articles contained in this virtual issue for free...

 Physiological responses of forest trees to heat and drought

 Rennenberg H, Loreto F, Polle A, et al.
From the abstract: The heat wave of summer 2003 was the largest and the most persistent ever experienced in Central Europe and fuelled concern about the effects of climate change on European ecosystems. Since forests constitute the most important European ecosystems, in this review article we assess current knowledge on the effects of heat and drought on key metabolic processes for growth and productivity of forest trees...

Effects of species composition, land surface cover, CO2 concentration and climate on isoprene emissions from European forests

Arneth A, Schurgers G, Hickler T, et al.
From the abstract: We explore the regional distribution of emissions from European woody vegetation, using a mechanistic isoprene-dynamic vegetation model framework. We investigate the interactive effects of climate and CO2 concentration on forest productivity, species composition, and isoprene emissions for the periods 1981–2000 and 2081–2100. Our projection of future emissions includes a direct CO2-isoprene inhibition...

Physiological performance of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) at its southeastern distribution limit in Europe: Seasonal changes in nitrogen, carbon and water balance

Nahm M, Radoglou K, Halyvopoulos G, et al.
From the abstract: To assess the physiological performance of drought-sensitive European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) under the dry Mediterranean climate prevailing at its southeastern distribution limit in Europe, we analyzed seasonal changes in carbon, nitrogen and water balance of naturally grown adult trees...

Nitrogen balance in forest soils: nutritional limitation of plants under climate change stresses

Rennenberg H, Dannenmann M, Gessler A, et al.
From the abstract: In this review, we summarize the present understanding of ecosystem N cycling in N-limited forests and its interaction with extreme climate events, such as heat, drought and flooding. More specifically, the impacts of environmental stresses on microbial release and consumption of bioavailable N, N uptake and competition between plants, as well as plant and microbial uptake are presented...

The complete nitrogen cycle of an N-saturated spruce forest ecosystem

Kreutzer K, Butterbach-Bahl K, Rennenberg H, et al.
From the abstract: In this study, we provide the first complete quantification of external and internal N fluxes in an old-growth spruce forest, the Höglwald, Bavaria, Germany, exposed to high chronic N deposition...

Climate change reverses the competitive balance of ash and beech seedlings under simulated forest conditions

Saxe H, Kerstiens G
From the abstract: This study identifies the important role of climate change and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) in the regenerative competence of ash and beech seedlings in 12 inter- and intra-specific competition designs in simulated mixed ash-beech forest gaps under conditions of non-limiting soil volume, water and nutrient supply. The growth conditions simulated natural forest conditions as closely as possible...

Nitrogen nutrition of poplar trees

Rennenberg H, Wildhagen H, Ehlting B
From the abstract: Many forest ecosystems have evolved at sites with growth-limiting nitrogen (N) availability, low N input from external sources and high ecosystem internal cycling of N. By contrast, many poplar species are frequent constituents of floodplain forests where they are exposed to a significant ecosystem external supply of N, mainly nitrate, in the moving water table. We summarise current knowledge of nitrate uptake and its regulation by tree internal signals, as well as acquisition of ammonium and organic N from the soil...

Chemical and mechanical changes during leaf expansion of four woody species of a dry Restinga woodland

Schlindwein CCD, Fett-Neto AG, Dillenburg LR
From the abstract: Young leaves are preferential targets for herbivores, and plants have developed different strategies to protect them. This study aimed to evaluate different leaf attributes of presumed relevance in protection against herbivory in four woody species (Erythroxylum argentinum, Lithrea brasiliensis, Myrciaria cuspidata, and Myrsine umbellata), growing in a dry restinga woodland in southern Brazil...

Seasonal rhythms of seed rain and seedling emergence in two tropical rain forests in southern Brazil

Marques MCM, Oliveira PEAM
From the abstract: Seasonal tropical forests show rhythms in reproductive activities due to water stress during dry seasons. If both seed dispersal and seed germination occur in the best environmental conditions, mortality will be minimised and forest regeneration will occur. To evaluate whether non-seasonal forests also show rhythms, for 2 years we studied the seed rain and seedling emergence in two sandy coastal forests (flooded and unflooded) in southern Brazil...

Pollination ecology of Isoglossa woodii, a long-lived, synchronously monocarpic herb from coastal forests in South Africa

Griffiths ME, Tsvuura Z, Franklin DC, et al.
From the abstract: Synchronous monocarpy in long-lived plants is often associated with pollination by wind. Selfing in synchronous monocarps may provide reproductive assurance but conflict with the benefits of outcrossing, a key evolutionary driver of synchrony. We predicted that animal-pollinated species with synchronous flowering would have unspecialised flowers and attract abundant generalised pollinators, but predictions for selfing and outcrossing frequencies were not obvious...

Phenology and pollination biology of eight Peperomia species (Piperaceae) in semideciduous forests in southeastern Brazil

de Figueiredo RA, Sazima M
From the abstract: Data on flowering phenology and pollination of Peperomia species are virtually non-existent. This study presents data on the pollination biology of eight Peperomia species from south-eastern Brazil, including the flowering phenology, pollination system, and reproductive success. Data on flowering phenology were recorded weekly and exclusion experiments on inflorescences provided data on autonomous self- and wind pollination...

Flowering phenological pattern in crowns of four temperate deciduous tree species and its reproductive implications

Tal O
From the abstract: This paper asks whether there are spatio-temporal patterns in the development of flowering in trees, and how they relate to reproductive processes. Using a crane, flowering phenology was studied in the crowns of ca. 200 trees of four species, from early spring (ash) through the period of leaf-unfolding (maples) to early summer (lime)...

Over-expression of gsh1 in the cytosol affects the photosynthetic apparatus and improves the performance of transgenic poplars on heavy metal-contaminated soil

Ivanova LA, Ronzhina DA et al
From the abstract: In this experiment, we studied quantitative parameters of leaves, assimilating tissues, cells and chloroplasts, mesophyll resistance for CO2 diffusion, chlorophyll and carbohydrate content in wild-type poplar and transgenic plants over-expressing gsh1 in the cytosol after 3 years of growth in relatively clean (control) or heavy metal-contaminated soil in the field...

Gene expression profiling in wounded and systemic leaves of Fagus sylvatica reveals up-regulation of ethylene and jasmonic acid signalling

K. Schlink
From the abstract: Wounding is a crucial threat to plants because of the physical damage caused and the possible entry of pathogens. Little is known about the wound reaction in forest trees. Therefore, leaves of young beech trees were wounded and the transcriptional response of wounded leaves and leaves directly above and below was analysed...