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Life-history variation in a native perennial grass (Tridens flavus): reproductive allocation, biomass partitioning, and allometry

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Abstract

Investment of limited resources into reproduction is a common feature of plants; coadapted life-history traits function as adaptations that have evolved to maximize fitness. There is currently little known about reproductive allocation (RA) of perennial grasses as a component of a partitioning strategy evolved to optimize sexual reproduction or about how RA may be related allometrically to vegetative size. This study examined variation in RA, biomass partitioning, and allometry in populations of a caespitose perennial grass (Tridens flavus) native to eastern North America. Plants reared from seeds of five populations in central New Jersey, USA, were planted in July 2015 into two undisturbed gardens 30 m apart that differed in availability of sunlight and soil moisture. After 3 years, data were collected on number of seeds (fecundity) and dry mass of seeds, panicles, culms, and leaves. RA (seed mass/vegetative mass) was significantly higher (13.1%) in the garden with higher light and lower soil moisture compared to the other garden in which RA was lower (9.1%) and varied significantly among populations. Fecundity was tightly correlated with vegetative mass in both gardens. A weak, but significant, trade-off between seed mass and number occurred in the garden with lower light and higher soil moisture. RA was positively correlated with relative fitness in both gardens. This research illustrates how population differentiation in reproductive allocation and partitioning may be revealed only in specific environments. Relatively high investment in seed production is important for recruitment and expansion of caespitose perennial grasses throughout successional habitats.

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Acknowledgements

The manuscript benefited greatly from the comments and suggestions of two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Biology Program, Plant Science Subprogram, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    G. P. Cheplick

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Communicated by Wayne Polley.

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Cheplick, G.P. Life-history variation in a native perennial grass (Tridens flavus): reproductive allocation, biomass partitioning, and allometry. Plant Ecol 221, 103–115 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-019-00996-z

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