Maternal effects of climate warming and nitrogen deposition vary with home and introduced ranges

Maternal effects allow offspring to cope with changing environments. While the immediate effects of climate warming and nitrogen (N) deposition are well documented, their maternal effects have been little studied. We conducted a 6-year maternal experiment with Solidago canadensis, native to North America and invasive in China, and two offspring experiments to address how maternal warming, maternal N-addition and population source interacted to influence offspring performance. Maternal effects of warming and N-addition on seed traits, leaf dry matter content, and whole-plant biomass were stronger in S. canadensis offspring from China than in offspring from North America. Matched maternal-offspring environments allowed offspring to perform better compared to mismatched environments; offspring grown under warming flowered and produced seeds within a growing season only when their maternal plants were previously exposed to warming. Offspring environments influenced its performance and also ...