Compensatory growth under leaf damage of herbal vine Aristolochia contorta depends on the light availability

Background: There is a wide range of phenotypic plasticity in plants that respond to tissue damage. Compensatory growth after physical damage may function as a part of tolerance to herbivory, which is affected by resource limitations and/or damage properties. Results: Under different light availability (unshaded and shaded) and damaged leaf ontogeny (control, young leaf- and mature leaf-damaged), compensatory growth was examined for the herbal vine Aristolochia contorta. Under the unshaded treatment, compensatory growth on leaf and branch emergence was strongly induced compared to the shaded treatment. Damage to young leaves induced leaf emergence more strongly than damage to old leaves. Conclusions: It appears that light availability acted as a limiting factor in the compensatory growth of A. contorta after the damage despite its vigorous growth under the shade treatment. Under the shade, leaf damage led to altered biomass allocation as indicated by a decrease in specific leaf area and an increase in root mass fraction. The present study contributes to the understanding of the phenotypic plasticity of vine species under different environmental conditions and damaged tissue, which may differ depending on the species’ habitat range.

keywords: herbal vine, leaf ontogeny, over-compensation, phenotypic plasticity, resource availability

바로가기메뉴

논문 상세

Vol.48 No.3

Compensatory growth under leaf damage of herbal vine Aristolochia contorta depends on the light availability

Abstract

Journal of Ecology and Environment