Data from: Climate warming and plant biomechanical defences: silicon addition contributes to herbivore suppression in a pasture grass

1. Plants, notably the Poacae, often accumulate large amounts of silicon (Si) from the soil. Si has multiple functional roles, particularly for alleviating abiotic and biotic stresses (e.g. defence against herbivores). Recent evidence suggests that environmental change, including temperature changes, can diminish Si accumulation which could affect functions such as herbivore defence. 2. Using a field warming experiment, we grew a pasture grass (Phalaris aquatica) that was either supplemented or untreated with Si (+Si and -Si, respectively) under ambient and elevated (+2.8ºC above ambient) air temperatures. We quantified soil water, plant growth rates, Si accumulation, leaf biomechanical properties and in situ relative growth rates of a herbivorous global insect pest (Helicoverpa armigera). 3. Si supplementation promoted shoot and root biomass by c. 48% and 61%, respectively under ambient temperatures, but these gains were not apparent under warmed conditions. 4. Warmer temperatures reduced Si uptake by -Si plants by c. 17%, potentially due to the lower levels of soil water content in warmed plots. Si supplementation, however, increased Si accumulation in leaves by c. 24% in warmed plots restoring Si levels to those seen under ambient temperatures. 5. Si supplementation enhanced biomechanical properties in the leaves, but this was only statistically significant under ambient temperatures; leaves of +Si plants required 42% more force to fracture and were 30% tougher at the midrib than leaves of -Si plants. The relative growth rates of H. armigera declined by 56% when feeding on +Si plants under ambient temperatures and while Si supplementation caused a trend towards declining herbivore growth rates under warmer conditions, this was not statistically significant. 6. We conclude that climate warming may mitigate the beneficial effects of Si on Phalaris aquatica in the short term, potentially by reducing Si uptake. While Si uptake can be restored with Si supplementation, Si-enhanced biomechanical defences against a global pest may not be fully restored under warmer temperatures.

Usage Notes
Dataset for Johnson et al.Dataset for the paper 'Climate warming and plant biomechanical defences: silicon addition contributes to herbivore suppression in a pasture grass'FE2018-00765_Dataset_DRYAD.xlsx

1. 植物，尤其是禾本科（Poacae）植物，通常会从土壤中富集大量硅（Si）。硅具备多种生理功能，尤其在缓解非生物胁迫与生物胁迫（例如抵御植食动物）方面发挥关键作用。近期研究证据显示，包括温度变化在内的环境改变会降低植物的硅积累量，进而可能影响其抵御植食动物等相关功能。2. 本研究依托野外增温实验，在环境温度与升温（较环境温度高2.8℃）条件下，分别种植经硅补充处理与未处理的牧草——球茎虉草（Phalaris aquatica）（以下分别记为+Si组与-Si组）。我们量化测定了土壤含水量、植物生长速率、硅积累量、叶片生物力学特性，以及全球性植食性害虫棉铃虫（Helicoverpa armigera）的原位相对生长速率。3. 在环境温度条件下，硅补充处理可使植物地上生物量与地下生物量分别提升约48%与61%，但在增温条件下，此类生长增益不再显著。4. 升温处理使-Si组植物的硅吸收量降低约17%，该现象可能与增温样地的土壤含水量较低有关。而硅补充处理则可使升温样地的叶片硅积累量提升约24%，将叶片硅含量恢复至环境温度条件下的水平。5. 硅补充处理可提升叶片的生物力学特性，但该效果仅在环境温度条件下具有统计学显著性：+Si组植物的叶片断裂所需外力较-Si组高42%，且其中脉的韧性较-Si组提升30%。在环境温度条件下，取食+Si组植物的棉铃虫相对生长速率下降了56%；尽管在增温条件下，硅补充处理仍呈现出降低植食动物生长速率的趋势，但该结果未达到统计学显著性水平。6. 本研究结论为：短期来看，气候变暖可能通过降低植物硅吸收量，削弱硅对球茎虉草的有益作用。尽管通过硅补充处理可恢复植物的硅吸收量，但在增温条件下，硅强化的针对全球性害虫的生物力学防御功能或无法完全恢复。使用说明：本数据集为Johnson等人的研究数据集，对应论文《Climate warming and plant biomechanical defences: silicon addition contributes to herbivore suppression in a pasture grass》，数据集文件为FE2018-00765_Dataset_DRYAD.xlsx。