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https://hdl.handle.net/10316/81137
Title: | Genders in Juniperus thurifera have different functional responses to variations in nutrient availability | Authors: | Montesinos, D. Villar, P. García-Fayos, P. Verdú, M. |
Issue Date: | Feb-2012 | Serial title, monograph or event: | New Phytologist | Volume: | 193 | Issue: | 3 | Abstract: | • Differences in reproductive investment can trigger asymmetric, context-dependent, functional strategies between genders in dioecious species. However, little is known about the gender responses of dioecious species to nutrient availability. • We experimentally fertirrigated a set of male and female Juniperus thurifera trees monthly for 2 yr. Water potential, photosynthesis rate and stomatal conductance were measured monthly for 2 yr, while shoot nitrogen (N) concentration, carbon isotopic composition (δ(13) C), branch growth, trunk radial growth and reproductive investment per branch were measured yearly. • Control males had lower gas exchange rates and radial growth but greater reproductive investment and higher water use efficiency (WUE; as inferred from more positive δ(13) C values) than females. Fertirrigation did not affect water potential or WUE but genders responded differently to increased nutrient availability. The two genders similarly increased shoot N concentration when fertilized. The increase in shoot N was associated with increased photosynthesis in males but not in females, which presented consistently high photosynthetic rates across treatments. • Our results suggest that genders invest N surplus in different functions, with females presenting a long-term strategy by increasing N storage to compensate for massive reproductive masting events, while males seem to be more reactive to current nutrient availability, promoting gas-exchange capacity. | URI: | https://hdl.handle.net/10316/81137 | ISSN: | 1469-8137 | DOI: | 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03982.x | Rights: | openAccess |
Appears in Collections: | I&D CFE - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais |
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Montesinosetal2012JthuriferaPhysiologyNewPhytologist.pdf | Full text | 444.58 kB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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