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Kassout J, Hmimsa Y, Fatehi SE, Kadaoui K, Houssni M, Chakkour S, Sahli A, El Chami MA, Ariza-Mateos D, Palacios-Rodríguez G, Navarro-Cerrillo RM, Ater M. Aridity Gradients Shape Intraspecific Variability of Morphological Traits in Native Ceratonia siliqua L. of Morocco. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:3447. [PMID: 37836187 PMCID: PMC10575131 DOI: 10.3390/plants12193447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a significant fruit tree in the Mediterranean region with cultural, biological, and ecological importance. Despite its importance, intraspecific trait variability (ITV) in carob trees has been largely overlooked in previous studies. Understanding ITV and its relationship with environmental conditions is crucial for conservation and breeding programs. In this study, we investigated the variability of carob pod and seed-related traits across different ecological scales in 25 studied populations in Morocco. Significant differences in morphological traits were observed between carob populations at various ecological levels, and pod-related traits exhibited greater variability than seed traits. Correlation analysis revealed strong associations between carob morphological traits and environmental conditions, with altitude and aridity index playing an influential role. The aridity gradient was strongly related to changes in pod size, seed number, and size, as well as seed yield. Our findings highlight an important ITV reaching 45% at the intra-population level, 36.5% at the inter-geographic level, and 30% at the inter-population level. Overall, this study contributes valuable insights into the ecology and adaptation of carob trees, emphasizing the importance of considering intraspecific variability when studying this remarkable species. This knowledge is critical for addressing the challenges posed by climate change and human activities on the long-term survival and ecological functioning of carob populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jalal Kassout
- Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Marrakech, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Avenue Ennasr, P.O. Box 415, Rabat Principale, Rabat 10090, Morocco
| | - Younes Hmimsa
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
- TEDAEEP Team Research, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Larache (FPL), University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, P.O. Box 745, Larache 92000, Morocco
| | - Salama El Fatehi
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
- TEDAEEP Team Research, Polydisciplinary Faculty of Larache (FPL), University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, P.O. Box 745, Larache 92000, Morocco
| | - Khalil Kadaoui
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Mhammad Houssni
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Soufian Chakkour
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Abdelouahab Sahli
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
| | - Mohamad Ali El Chami
- Forestry Engineering Department, ERSAF Research Group RNM-360, University of Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain; (M.A.E.C.); (D.A.-M.); (G.P.-R.); (R.M.N.-C.)
| | - David Ariza-Mateos
- Forestry Engineering Department, ERSAF Research Group RNM-360, University of Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain; (M.A.E.C.); (D.A.-M.); (G.P.-R.); (R.M.N.-C.)
| | - Guillermo Palacios-Rodríguez
- Forestry Engineering Department, ERSAF Research Group RNM-360, University of Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain; (M.A.E.C.); (D.A.-M.); (G.P.-R.); (R.M.N.-C.)
| | - Rafael M. Navarro-Cerrillo
- Forestry Engineering Department, ERSAF Research Group RNM-360, University of Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba, Spain; (M.A.E.C.); (D.A.-M.); (G.P.-R.); (R.M.N.-C.)
| | - Mohamed Ater
- Laboratory of Applied Botany, Bio-Agrodiversity Team, Faculty of Sciences, University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi, Tétouan 93030, Morocco; (Y.H.); (S.E.F.); (K.K.); (M.H.); (S.C.); (A.S.); (M.A.)
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Vacchiano G, Pesendorfer MB, Conedera M, Gratzer G, Rossi L, Ascoli D. Natural disturbances and masting: from mechanisms to fitness consequences. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200384. [PMID: 34657468 PMCID: PMC8520777 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The timing of seed production and release is highly relevant for successful plant reproduction. Ecological disturbances, if synchronized with reproductive effort, can increase the chances of seeds and seedlings to germinate and establish. This can be especially true under variable and synchronous seed production (masting). Several observational studies have reported worldwide evidence for co-occurrence of disturbances and seed bumper crops in forests. Here, we review the evidence for interaction between disturbances and masting in global plant communities; we highlight feedbacks between these two ecological processes and posit an evolutionary pathway leading to the selection of traits that allow trees to synchronize seed crops with disturbances. Finally, we highlight relevant questions to be tested on the functional and evolutionary relationship between disturbances and masting. This article is part of the theme issue 'The ecology and evolution of synchronized seed production in plants'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Vacchiano
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| | - Mario B. Pesendorfer
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marco Conedera
- WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Cadenazzo, Switzerland
| | - Georg Gratzer
- Institute of Forest Ecology, Department of Forest and Soil Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lorenzo Rossi
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Milano, Italy
| | - Davide Ascoli
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
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Rosa C, Hegel CGZ, Passamani M. Seed removal of Araucaria angustifolia by native and invasive mammals in protected areas of Atlantic Forest. BIOTA NEOTROPICA 2021. [DOI: 10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2020-1111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Araucaria Forest is one of the most threatened tropical forests in the world. Wild pig (Sus scrofa) are invasive pig that is expanding through these forests and seed removing that would be available to native fauna. Our aim was to evaluate the rates of seed Araucaria (Araucaria angustifolia) removal by both small, medium, and large mammals in areas with and without wild pig. We conducted a seed-removal experiment with three treatments differing in mammals’ access to seeds, in areas with and without the occurrence of wild pig. Similar numbers of seeds Araucaria were removed by small, medium and large mammals, even in areas with wild pig. However, we verified that seed removal by small mammals is graduate over time, while large mammals, especially wild pig, remove in one event. So, we recommend long-term studies to investigate competition between wild pig and native biota and the effects of wild pig on seed dispersal and seed survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clarissa Rosa
- Universidade Federal de Lavras, Brasil; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Brasil
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Wilson OJ, Walters RJ, Mayle FE, Lingner DV, Vibrans AC. Cold spot microrefugia hold the key to survival for Brazil's Critically Endangered Araucaria tree. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:4339-4351. [PMID: 31301686 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Brazil's Araucaria tree (Araucaria angustifolia) is an iconic living fossil and a defining element of the Atlantic Forest global biodiversity hotspot. But despite more than two millennia as a cultural icon in southern Brazil, Araucaria is on the brink of extinction, having lost 97% of its extent to 20th-century logging. Although logging is now illegal, 21st-century climate change constitutes a new-but so far unevaluated-threat to Araucaria's future survival. We use a robust ensemble modelling approach, using recently developed climate data, high-resolution topography and fine-scale vegetation maps, to predict the species' response to climate change and its implications for conservation on meso- and microclimate scales. We show that climate-only models predict the total disappearance of Araucaria's most suitable habitat by 2070, but incorporating topographic effects allows potential highland microrefugia to be identified. The legacy of 20th-century destruction is evident-more than a third of these likely holdouts have already lost their natural vegetation-and 21st-century climate change will leave just 3.5% of remnant forest and 28.4% of highland grasslands suitable for Araucaria. Existing protected areas cover only 2.5% of the surviving microrefugia for this culturally important species, and none occur in any designated indigenous territory. Our results suggest that anthropogenic climate change is likely to commit Araucaria to a second consecutive century of significant losses, but targeted interventions could help ensure its survival in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver J Wilson
- School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Richard J Walters
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Francis E Mayle
- School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
| | - Débora V Lingner
- Department of Forest Engineering, Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Alexander C Vibrans
- Department of Forest Engineering, Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil
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Prevedello JA, Vieira MV, Vieira EM, Dickman CR. The importance of food supply in high-productivity ecosystems: Short-term experimental tests with small rodents. AUSTRAL ECOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jayme A. Prevedello
- Departamento de Ecologia; CP 68020; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro 21941-590 Brazil
| | - Marcus V. Vieira
- Departamento de Ecologia; CP 68020; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Rio de Janeiro 21941-590 Brazil
| | | | - Chris R. Dickman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences; University of Sydney; Sydney New South Wales Australia
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Ribeiro JF, Vieira EM. Interactions between a seed-eating neotropical rodent, the Azara's agouti (Dasyprocta azarae), and the Brazilian ‘pine’Araucaria angustifolia. AUSTRAL ECOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juliana F. Ribeiro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia; Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos; Departamento de Ecologia; Universidade de Brasília; Brazil
| | - Emerson M. Vieira
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Mamíferos - Zoologia; CP 04457. Universidade doVale do Rio dos Sinos; São Leopoldo RS 70919-970 Brazil
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