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

植物，尤其是禾本科植物，常常从土壤中积累大量的硅（Si）。硅具有多种功能作用，尤其是对于缓解非生物和生物胁迫（例如，防御食草动物）具有重要意义。最新的证据表明，环境变化，包括温度变化，可能会降低硅的积累，从而影响诸如防御食草动物等功能。通过一项田间增温实验，我们在环境温度和升高温度（比环境温度高2.8°C）下，种植了一种牧草（Phalaris aquatica），该牧草分别被补充或未补充硅（分别表示为+Si和-Si）。我们量化了土壤水分、植物生长速率、硅积累、叶片生物力学性质以及一种食草性全球害虫（Helicoverpa armigera）的现场相对生长速率。硅补充剂在环境温度下促进了茎和根的生物量增加约48%和61%，但在增温条件下，这些收益并不明显。较高温度降低了-Si植物的硅吸收量约17%，这可能是由于增温处理中土壤水分含量较低。然而，硅补充剂在增温处理中增加了叶片中硅的积累约24%，从而将硅水平恢复到环境温度下的水平。硅补充剂增强了叶片的生物力学性质，但这种增强仅在环境温度下具有统计学意义；+Si植物的叶片比-Si植物的叶片需要42%更多的力量才能断裂，在中肋处的韧性也提高了30%。在环境温度下，食草动物H. armigera在食用+Si植物时，其相对生长速率下降了56%；而硅补充剂在较暖条件下导致食草动物生长速率下降的趋势，但这一结果并不具有统计学意义。我们得出结论，气候变暖可能会在短期内减轻硅对Phalaris aquatica的益处，这可能通过减少硅的吸收来实现。虽然可以通过硅补充剂恢复硅的吸收，但在较暖的温度下，硅增强的生物力学防御对全球害虫的效果可能无法完全恢复。