Global grass (Poaceae) success underpinned by traits facilitating colonization, persistence and habitat transformation.
Autor: | Linder HP; Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH 8008, Zurich, Switzerland., Lehmann CER; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK.; Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag X3, WITS, 2050, South Africa., Archibald S; Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Private Bag X3, WITS, 2050, South Africa., Osborne CP; Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, U.K., Richardson DM; Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, 7602, South Africa. |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Zdroj: | Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society [Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc] 2018 May; Vol. 93 (2), pp. 1125-1144. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Dec 12. |
DOI: | 10.1111/brv.12388 |
Abstrakt: | Poaceae (the grasses) is arguably the most successful plant family, in terms of its global occurrence in (almost) all ecosystems with angiosperms, its ecological dominance in many ecosystems, and high species richness. We suggest that the success of grasses is best understood in context of their capacity to colonize, persist, and transform environments (the "Viking syndrome"). This results from combining effective long-distance dispersal, efficacious establishment biology, ecological flexibility, resilience to disturbance and the capacity to modify environments by changing the nature of fire and mammalian herbivory. We identify a diverse set of functional traits linked to dispersal, establishment and competitive abilities. Enhanced long-distance dispersal is determined by anemochory, epizoochory and endozoochory and is facilitated via the spikelet (and especially the awned lemma) which functions as the dispersal unit. Establishment success could be a consequence of the precocious embryo and large starch reserves, which may underpin the extremely short generation times in grasses. Post-establishment genetic bottlenecks may be mitigated by wind pollination and the widespread occurrence of polyploidy, in combination with gametic self-incompatibility. The ecological competitiveness of grasses is corroborated by their dominance across the range of environmental extremes tolerated by angiosperms, facilitated by both C (© 2017 Cambridge Philosophical Society.) |
Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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