Soil erodibility differs according to heritable trait variation and nutrient-induced plasticity in the salt marsh engineer Spartina alterniflora

Use of landform engineers for habitat restoration has often resulted in unanticipated outcomes. It is possible that departures from expectation arise because applications do not adequately account for the influence of heritable and non-heritable phenotypic variation on ecosystem attributes. In this study, we performed a common garden greenhouse experiment to determine whether soil shear strength—a characteristic linked to erosion resistance—varies according to heritable and plastic trait expression in Spartina alterniflora grown under contrasting nutrient regimes. We detected heritable variation across a broad spectrum of functional traits, including nutrient uptake. We also found that S. alterniflora exhibited trait-specific differences in nutrient-induced phenotypic plasticity. Heritable trait differences and plasticity together explained approximately 70% of the observed variation in soil shear strength. Soil shear strength increased when plants received more nutrients, but the influ...

采用地貌工程师（landform engineers）开展栖息地修复的实践，往往会产生未预期的结果。此类结果偏离预期的可能原因在于，相关应用未充分考量可遗传与非可遗传表型变异对生态系统属性的影响。本研究通过开展同质园温室实验，旨在探究在不同养分条件下生长的互花米草（Spartina alterniflora）中，与抗侵蚀特性相关的土壤抗剪强度，是否会随其可遗传性状及可塑性性状的表达发生变化。研究团队在包括养分吸收在内的多种功能性状中，均检测到了可遗传变异。同时还发现，互花米草在养分诱导的表型可塑性方面存在性状特异性差异。可遗传性状差异与表型可塑性二者，共同解释了约70%的土壤抗剪强度观测变异。当植株获取更多养分时，土壤抗剪强度会随之提升，但该影响的...