Abstract
Predicting how plants will respond to global warming necessitates understanding of local plant adaptation to temperature. Temperature may exert selective effects on plants directly, and also indirectly through environmental factors that covary with temperature, notably soil properties. However, studies on the interactive effects of temperature and soil properties on plant adaptation are rare, and the role of abiotic versus biotic soil properties in plant adaptation to temperature remains untested. We performed two growth chamber experiments using soils and Bistorta vivipara bulbil ecotypes from a subarctic elevational gradient (temperature range: ±3°C) in northern Sweden to disentangle effects of local ecotype, temperature, and biotic and abiotic properties of soil origin on plant growth. We found partial evidence for local adaption to temperature. Although soil origin affected plant growth, we did not find support for local adaptation to either abiotic or biotic soil properties, and there were no interactive effects of soil origin with ecotype or temperature. Our results indicate that ecotypic variation can be an important driver of plant responses to the direct effects of increasing temperature, while responses to covariation in soil properties are of a phenotypic, rather than adaptive, nature.
Highlights
Local adaptation of plants to environmental conditions is receiving increasing interest, in the context of climatic change [1,2]
Soils and B. vivipara bulbil ecotypes used in this study were collected from an elevational gradient on the northeast facing slope of Mount Suorooaivi (1193 m), approximately 20 km southeast of Abisko, Sweden (68◦21 N, 18◦49 E) [13,15]
There was a significant interactive effect between ecotype and temperature on plant biomass, but there were no interactions of soil origin with ecotype or temperature
Summary
Local adaptation of plants to environmental conditions is receiving increasing interest, in the context of climatic change [1,2]. Patterns of local adaptation provide important insights into how plants might respond to shifts in climatic conditions such as global warming. Many studies have focused on adaptation of plants to temperature. It has been shown that along large-scale latitudinal temperature gradients, plant ecotypes performed best at their home sites [3,4]. Temperature does directly impact on plant performance, and its effects on other ecosystem components may indirectly affect performance, thereby modifying local plant adaptation. Previous studies have indicated that plant adaptation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
