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Population differentiation in a Mediterranean relict shrub: the potential role of local adaptation for coping with climate change

  • Physiological ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Plants can respond to climate change by either migrating, adapting to the new conditions or going extinct. Relict plant species of limited distribution can be especially vulnerable as they are usually composed of small and isolated populations, which may reduce their ability to cope with rapidly changing environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the vulnerability of Cneorum tricoccon L. (Cneoraceae), a Mediterranean relict shrub of limited distribution, to a future drier climate. We evaluated population differentiation in functional traits related to drought tolerance across seven representative populations of the species’ range. We measured morphological and physiological traits in both the field and the greenhouse under three water availability levels. Large phenotypic differences among populations were found under field conditions. All populations responded plastically to simulated drought, but they differed in mean trait values as well as in the slope of the phenotypic response. Particularly, dry-edge populations exhibited multiple functional traits that favored drought tolerance, such as more sclerophyllous leaves, strong stomatal control but high photosynthetic rates, which increases water use efficiency (iWUE), and an enhanced ability to accumulate sugars as osmolytes. Although drought decreased RGR in all populations, this reduction was smaller for populations from the dry edge. Our results suggest that dry-edge populations of this relict species are well adapted to drought, which could potentially mitigate the species’ extinction risk under drier scenarios. Dry-edge populations not only have a great conservation value but can also change expectations from current species’ distribution models.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a JAE-predoc fellowship from the LINCGlobal. Funding was provided by the Spanish Ministry for Innovation and Science with the grants Consolider Montes (CSD2008_00040), VULGLO (CGL2010-22180-C03-03), PATSIMON (CGL2010-18759) and REMEDINAL III (CM-S2013/MAE-2719). The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. We thank Clara Vignolo, David Lopez-Quiroga, Alicia Forner and Manix, for their valuable support in the field and to Elena Granda and Teresa Morán for help with the statistical analyses. We also thank the staff at Cabrera National Park for logistic support while in the island.

Author contribution statement

ALN, FV and AT conceived and designed the experiment; ALN conducted field work and the greenhouse experiment; LH and AK performed soluble carbohydrates analyses; ALN and SM analyzed the data; ALN, SM, FV and AT wrote the manuscript; other authors provided editorial advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LINCGlobal, Departamento de Biogeografía y Cambio Global, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Serrano 115 dpdo., 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Ana Lázaro-Nogal & Fernando Valladares

  2. Departamento de Biología y Geología, ESCET, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Tulipán s/n, 28933, Móstoles, Spain

    Silvia Matesanz & Fernando Valladares

  3. Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51014, Tartu, Estonia

    Lea Hallik & Alisa Krasnova

  4. Tartu Observatory, Tõravere, 61602, Tartumaa, Estonia

    Lea Hallik

  5. LINCGlobal, Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats, IMEDEA-CSIC, Miquel Marquès 21, 07190, Esporles, Mallorca, Spain

    Anna Traveset

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  1. Ana Lázaro-Nogal
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  2. Silvia Matesanz
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  3. Lea Hallik
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  4. Alisa Krasnova
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  5. Anna Traveset
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  6. Fernando Valladares
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Correspondence to Ana Lázaro-Nogal.

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Communicated by David A. Pyke.

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Lázaro-Nogal, A., Matesanz, S., Hallik, L. et al. Population differentiation in a Mediterranean relict shrub: the potential role of local adaptation for coping with climate change. Oecologia 180, 1075–1090 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3514-0

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