Contrasting whole-plant hydraulic strategies between light-demanding and shade-tolerant tropical-subtropical ferns
Clicks: 2
ID: 314961
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This
article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score —
reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
Reader Engagement
Emerging Content
0.3
/100
2 views
1 readers
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
EmergingRanked #181 of 197 articles by views in Annals of botany
Most read
Least read
Bar heights use a square-root scale. Only the 120 most-read articles are drawn; the journal has 197 in total.
Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet mintedCreate a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.
5
SUSD
one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Abstract Background and Aims Ferns are one of the most diverse lineages of vascular plants, distributed widely in various habitats of tropical and subtropical forests. Previous studies have indicated that ferns tend to operate conservative stomatal behavior. However, this finding is difficult to explain the abundant fern species in open sites. This study aimed to clarify a whole-plant hydraulic strategy of tropical-subtropical ferns with different light requirements. Methods We selected a total of 26 terrestrial fern species (14 light-demanding species and 12 shade-tolerant species) from the tropical-subtropical forests and measured their root (specific root length, SRL), stem (rhizome; rhizome biomass fraction, RHMF), and leaf hydraulic (pinna; hydraulic efficiency, drought tolerance, minimum leaf water potential, and safety margin) traits. In addition, we compiled a dataset of leaf hydraulic traits for woody and herbaceous angiosperm species from literatures. We analyzed the differences in safety margin between ferns and angiosperms, the root-stem-leaf traits relationships, and the contrasting whole-plant hydraulic strategies between light-demanding and shade-tolerant fern species. Key Results On average, ferns had more negative stomatal safety margin than woody and herbaceous angiosperm species. In addition, ferns showed lower leaf hydraulic safety margin than woody angiosperms. Below-ground traits significantly influenced leaf hydraulic safety in ferns, that is, species with lower SRL and higher RHMF showed higher water potential and leaf hydraulic safety margin. Compared to fern species from shade understory, light-demanding species were associated with higher SRL, lower RHMF, and higher leaf hydraulic risk. Conclusions We conclude that tropical-subtropical ferns do not exhibit conservative leaf-level hydraulics but rely on a whole-plant strategy involving root acquisition and rhizome storage, which underlies their contrasting performance across light and water availability. This integrative view is crucial for predicting fern responses to habitat disturbance and climate change.
| Reference Key |
openalex_W7162414994
Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using
SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
|
|---|---|
| Authors | Yue Wang, Wen-Hao Zeng, Ya-Dong Qie, Dong-Liu Huang, Min Zhang, Shi-Dan Zhu |
| Journal | Annals of botany |
| Year | 2026 |
| DOI |
10.1093/aob/mcag138
|
| URL | |
| Keywords | Keywords not found |
Citations
No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.