EvoPlast - Evolution of plant phenotypic plasticity in response to grassland management

表型可塑性是植物响应环境变化的重要机制之一。由于PP在大多数植物中都存在可遗传的变异，PP可以在适应的地方进化。其中一种情况可能是草原管理。割草、放牧和施肥都造成了时间上的变化的环境条件，这应该有利于并因此选择增加的PP，特别是植物快速利用临时营养脉冲的能力，以及在受损后再生的能力。然而，尽管众所周知植物可以快速适应不同的土地利用方式，但到目前为止，PP对土地利用的响应演化研究很少。在这里，我提出了一个研究项目，它将利用生物多样性探索实验室中的研究地块、土地利用信息和其他环境数据来检验以下假设：(1)在植物对养分添加的快速反应能力方面，选择更多的肥料是为了增加PP。(2)更密集放牧和修剪的地点的植物表现出更强的再生能力(3)植被结构的空间异质性和土地利用的时间变化通常与更大的PP相关(4)种群水平的遗传多样性与PPI正相关将在生物多样性探索实验室中的三个常见草地物种中检验这些预测：无芒雀麦、车前草和Veronica chamaedrys、每个样本都来自三个探险区的60个草原EP。我将进行普通花园的对照试验，在这些试验中，将测量各种功能性状(生物量、SLA、叶片C：N：P比率和物候学)对施肥和修剪处理的反应。我还将测量健康特征，并调查塑料反应是否具有适应性，以及它们是否也有健身成本。为了检验假设(3)，我会将PP与通过航空或卫星照片以及从野外观测获得的空间异质性数据相关联。我还将把PP与反映土地利用实践内部和之间的时间异质性的时间土地利用变化指数相关联。最后，我将把我的数据与现有的分子标记数据联系起来，以检验中性遗传多样性和PP之间的相关性。我的项目将是关于生物多样性探索中迄今尚未探索的遗传多样性的一部分，因此将增加我们对土地利用对植物进化影响的理解。

Phenotypic plasticity (PP) is one of the key mechanisms by which plants respond to environmental changes. As there is heritable variation in PP in most plants, PP can evolve where it is adaptive. One such situation might be grassland management. Mowing, grazing and fertilization all create temporally variable environmental conditions, which should favor and thus select for increased PP, in particular the ability of plants to rapidly exploit temporary nutrient pulses, and the ability to regrow after damage. However, although it is well known that plants can rapidly adapt to different land-use practices, evolution of PP in response to land use has rarely been studied so far. Here, I propose a research project that will take advantage of the study plots, land use information and other environmental data in the Biodiversity Exploratories to test the following hypotheses:(1) Increased fertilization selected for increased PP in the ability of plants to rapidly respond to nutrient addition(2) Plants in more intensively grazed and mown sites show a stronger capacity for regrowth(3) Spatial heterogeneity in vegetation structure and temporal variation in land use generally correlates with greater PP(4) Population-level genetic diversity correlates positively with PPI will test these predictions in three common grassland species in the Biodiversity Exploratories: Bromus hordeaceus, Plantago lanceolata and Veronica chamaedrys, each sampled from 60 grassland EPs across the three Exploratories. I will carry out controlled common garden experiments in which the response to fertilization and clipping treatments will be measured in various functional traits (biomass, SLA, leaf C:N:P ratio and phenology). I will also measure fitness traits and investigate whether plastic responses are adaptive, and whether they also have a fitness cost. To test hypothesis (3) I will correlate PP with data on spatial heterogeneity, obtained via aerial or satellite photographs as well as from field observations. I will also correlate PP with an index of temporal land-use change reflecting temporal heterogeneity both within and between land-use practices. Finally, I will link my data to existing molecular marker data to examine correlations between neutral genetic diversity and PP.My project will be about a hitherto unexplored part of genetic diversity in the Biodiversity Exploratories and will thus increase our understanding in particular of the evolutionary consequences of land use on plants.