Differences between flower and leaf phenological responses to environmental variation drive shifts in spring phenological sequences of temperate woody plants

作者：D. M. Buonaiuto, E. M. Wolkovich · 发表于：Journal of Ecology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2745.13708 · 被引用次数：56 · 研究领域：Plant and animal studies、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Species Distribution and Climate Change

Abstract The relative timing of growth and reproduction is an important driver of plant fitness. For deciduous woody species in temperate regions, leaves and flowers both appear in the early spring, but the order and duration of these phenological events vary among species, populations and individuals. Researchers have long hypothesized that this variation in flower–leaf sequences (FLSs) may be important—affecting the reproduction, recruitment and survival of individuals. Furthermore, FLSs appear to be shifting with climate change; thus, anticipating the extent of these shifts may influence projections of how climate change impacts species' performance and reshapes forest communities. Predicting FLS shifts requires an improved understanding of how environmental variation dictates FLS patterns. To address this, we compared the phenological responses of flowers and developing leaves for 10 temperate woody species to varying levels of temperature and photoperiod in a lab experiment. Our experimental design allowed us to test competing hypotheses for how environmental cues determine FLS variation—specifically whether forcing (warm temperatures) alone drives variation or differential sensitivity to chilling (cool temperatures generally in the fall/winter) and/or photoperiod matter. Within species, we found that flower and leaf phenology responded with differential sensitivity to environmental cues, with differences in their response to chilling being the dominant driver of FLS var...