Plants engage in mutualistic interactions with microbes that improve their mineral nutrient supply. The most wide-spread symbiotic association is arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), in which fungi of the order Glomeromycota invade roots and colonize the cellular lumen of cortical cells. The establishment of this interaction requires a dedicated molecular-genetic program and a cellular machinery of the ...

Successful management and restoration of coastal vegetation requires a quantitative process-based understanding of thresholds hampering (re-)establishment of pioneer vegetation. We expected scouring to be important in explaining the disappearance of seedlings and/or small propagules of intertidal plant species, and therefore quantified the dependence of scouring on plant traits (flexibility, si...

Development of seed plant embryos is polarized along the apical-basal axis. This polarization occurs in the absence of cell migration and culminates in the establishment of two distinct pluripotent cell populations: the shoot apical meristem (SAM) and root meristem (RM), which postembryonically give rise to the entire shoot and root systems of the plant. The acquisition of genetic pathways that...

The variety of plant architectures observed in nature is predominantly determined by vegetative and reproductive branching patterns, the positioning of lateral organs, and differential stem elongation. Branches, lateral organs, and stems are the final products of the activity of meristems, groups of stem cells whose function is genetically determined and environmentally influenced. Several deca...

Campbell Island, an isolated island 600 km south of New Zealand mainland (52 °S, 169 °E) is oceanic (Conrad Index of Continentality  =  -5) with small differences between mean summer and winter temperatures. Previous work established the unexpected result that a mean annual climate warming of c. 0.6 °C since the 1940's has not led to upward movement of the forest limit. Here we explore the rela...

Plant growth regulators, especially those applied directly to the root system, are thought to significantly reduce growth of the root systems. Various perennials were treated with uniconazole (Concise, Fine Americas, Inc.) to evaluate effects on plant height as well as shoot and root dry weights. Plant height of Lobelia cardinalis was not affected by a 1 ppm uniconazole liner dip, but shoot dry...

Plants do not grow as axenic organisms in nature, but host a diverse community of microorganisms, termed the plant microbiota. There is an increasing awareness that the plant microbiota plays a role in plant growth and can provide protection from invading pathogens. Apart from intense research on crop plants, Arabidopsis is emerging as a valuable model system to investigate the drivers shaping ...

Knapweeds (Centaurea spp.) are among the most invasive of non-indigenous plant species that have colonized western North America over the last century. We conducted a 4-year experiment in a reconstructed grassland to test hypotheses related to the ability of grasslands to resist the invasion of diVuse knapweed (C. diVusa). We experimentally invaded C. diVusa and three native species into areas ...

plant establishment is the most critical stage in biological renovation of rangelands. the processes which normally fails, due to the harsh conditions in the arid and semiarid environments. new technologies may be used to overcome this problem. the purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility of enhancing seedling establishment and growth rate of alfalfa (medicago sativa l.) ...

The establishment of riparian protection forests in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) is an ideal measure to cope with the eco-environmental problems of the water-level fluctuation zone (WLFZ). Thus, the information for screening winter-flood-tolerant woody plant species is useful for the recovery and re-establishment of the riparian protection forests in the TGR WLFZ. Therefore, we discussed th...