Abstract
Hydrangea macrophylla is a shrub endemic to Japan, and inhabits the limited coastal zones in the Izu, Miura and Boso peninsulas, and the Izu and Bonin islands. Even though H. macrophylla is demanded as an important genetic resource for ecological conservation and utilities of landscaping and gardening in salinity-stressed lands, there is still a lack of information regarding its ecology and adaptative response to salinity-stressed coastal environments. This study aimed to understand the ecology and adaptation to salinity stress of H. macrophylla. Thus, we examined distribution, geography, vegetation, morphology, soil characteristics, and cation concentrations of the leaves in the native habitats. Most of the populations were mainly distributed in coastal zones that have sea-salt aerosols triggered by high wind speed and high soil salinity, causing severe damage to other plant species. The cation analysis suggested H. macrophylla adapted to coastal zones by regulating Na+ allocation of leaves and tolerating to high Na+ concentration. Otherwise, we found many populations inhabited inland or semi-coastal areas with mountainous vegetation in Izu islands. They had thinner leaves with weaker glossy, and some individuals developed trichomes which are not originally present in H. macrophylla, suggesting in initial stage of the process of adaptative radiation to mountainous environment. The other individuals grew in oligotrophic environments such as rocky surfaces and volcanic ash scoria, and epiphyte-like individuals inhabited stem surfaces of Cyathea spinulosa, implying these individuals had adaptability to oligotrophic environments. The comprehensive information should help facilitate further studies on ecological conservation and horticultural utilities.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Professor Iain McTaggart for English proofreading.
Funding
This work was supported by the grants-in-aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS grant no. 20K06022) and the 31st Botanical Research Grant of ICHIMURA Foundation for New Technology.
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HM and TH supervised this research project and wrote the manuscript. HM carried out all experiments. SS and SH investigated soil characteristics collected from the native habitat of H. macrophylla. All authors collected soil and leaf samples and contributed to organizing the field data of native habitats in 2013–2022. Data was interpreted by all authors.
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Morimoto, H., Harada, S., Shukuya, S. et al. Distribution, ecology, and adaptation to salinity stress of wild Hydrangea macrophylla endemic to Japan. Plant Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-024-01433-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-024-01433-6