Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing

More accurate determination of leaf plasticity induced by the legacy effect of grazing and immediate ingestion can provide insights on growth–defense tradeoffs, and are of great importance to understanding valuable indicators for grassland management. Despite the ecological importance of leaf traits...

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Autores principales:	Xiliang Li, Guochen Kenny Png, Yuanheng Li, Saheed Olaide Jimoh, Yong Ding, Fang Li, Shixian Sun
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Grazing Growth–defense tradeoff Leaf plasticity Grassland management Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/36e052172e484d5e90c1b18b84d5a4a1
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:36e052172e484d5e90c1b18b84d5a4a12021-12-01T04:41:17ZLeaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107273https://doaj.org/article/36e052172e484d5e90c1b18b84d5a4a12021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X20312139https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XMore accurate determination of leaf plasticity induced by the legacy effect of grazing and immediate ingestion can provide insights on growth–defense tradeoffs, and are of great importance to understanding valuable indicators for grassland management. Despite the ecological importance of leaf traits, the effectiveness of leaf plasticity as a key physical anti-herbivore trait that may signal grazing disturbance has not yet been assessed. Here, we assessed leaf angle and related functional traits as indicators of the responses of palatable Leymus chinensis and less palatable Carex korshinskyi to five sheep grazing intensities during the early grazing season. Grazing significantly increases leaf angle, paralleled by a decrease in the sizes of both whole plants and leaves, with a stronger response by L. chinensis than C. korshinskyi. Leaf size and angle had higher positive and lower negative allometric slopes with plant size in L. chinensis compared to C. korshinskyi. This pattern reflects that the palatable species had relatively higher adaptability to grazing via stabilizing leaf area and anti-herbivore defense responses. Structural equation modeling shows that historical grazing contributes more than foraging in the current year to leaf plasticity, which is particularly evident in the less palatable species C. korshinskyi. The foraging proportion is positively correlated with the leaf angle for L. chinensis but not C. korshinskyi, suggesting that leaf plasticity can indicate selective foraging. Moreover, plasticity in leaf angle potentially influences net photosynthesis which manifests as a unimodal curve across the grazing intensities under a balance between the gross photosynthetic and respiratory rates. Thus, we demonstrate that palatability-dependent leaf plasticity can indicate selective foraging across grazing intensities, thereby contributing to plant anti-herbivore defense. Our results highlight that grazing legacy and immediate ingestion had a positive interaction effect on leaf traits. These findings show that grazing-induced leaf plasticity represents a key nexus between ecological mechanisms and grassland management.Xiliang LiGuochen Kenny PngYuanheng LiSaheed Olaide JimohYong DingFang LiShixian SunElsevierarticleGrazingGrowth–defense tradeoffLeaf plasticityGrassland managementEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 122, Iss , Pp 107273- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Grazing Growth–defense tradeoff Leaf plasticity Grassland management Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Grazing Growth–defense tradeoff Leaf plasticity Grassland management Ecology QH540-549.5 Xiliang Li Guochen Kenny Png Yuanheng Li Saheed Olaide Jimoh Yong Ding Fang Li Shixian Sun Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing
description	More accurate determination of leaf plasticity induced by the legacy effect of grazing and immediate ingestion can provide insights on growth–defense tradeoffs, and are of great importance to understanding valuable indicators for grassland management. Despite the ecological importance of leaf traits, the effectiveness of leaf plasticity as a key physical anti-herbivore trait that may signal grazing disturbance has not yet been assessed. Here, we assessed leaf angle and related functional traits as indicators of the responses of palatable Leymus chinensis and less palatable Carex korshinskyi to five sheep grazing intensities during the early grazing season. Grazing significantly increases leaf angle, paralleled by a decrease in the sizes of both whole plants and leaves, with a stronger response by L. chinensis than C. korshinskyi. Leaf size and angle had higher positive and lower negative allometric slopes with plant size in L. chinensis compared to C. korshinskyi. This pattern reflects that the palatable species had relatively higher adaptability to grazing via stabilizing leaf area and anti-herbivore defense responses. Structural equation modeling shows that historical grazing contributes more than foraging in the current year to leaf plasticity, which is particularly evident in the less palatable species C. korshinskyi. The foraging proportion is positively correlated with the leaf angle for L. chinensis but not C. korshinskyi, suggesting that leaf plasticity can indicate selective foraging. Moreover, plasticity in leaf angle potentially influences net photosynthesis which manifests as a unimodal curve across the grazing intensities under a balance between the gross photosynthetic and respiratory rates. Thus, we demonstrate that palatability-dependent leaf plasticity can indicate selective foraging across grazing intensities, thereby contributing to plant anti-herbivore defense. Our results highlight that grazing legacy and immediate ingestion had a positive interaction effect on leaf traits. These findings show that grazing-induced leaf plasticity represents a key nexus between ecological mechanisms and grassland management.
format	article
author	Xiliang Li Guochen Kenny Png Yuanheng Li Saheed Olaide Jimoh Yong Ding Fang Li Shixian Sun
author_facet	Xiliang Li Guochen Kenny Png Yuanheng Li Saheed Olaide Jimoh Yong Ding Fang Li Shixian Sun
author_sort	Xiliang Li
title	Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing
title_short	Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing
title_full	Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing
title_fullStr	Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing
title_full_unstemmed	Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing
title_sort	leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: implications for sustainable grazing
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/36e052172e484d5e90c1b18b84d5a4a1
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_version_	1718405805342982144

Leaf plasticity contributes to plant anti-herbivore defenses and indicates selective foraging: Implications for sustainable grazing

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