Differential water holding capacity in bryophyte species and organizational levels
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Jessi Allen
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
5-7-2024 10:45 AM
End Date
5-7-2024 11:05 AM
Location
PAT 326
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
A species’ ecological role and distribution is driven by its functional traits. As non-vascular, poikilohydric plants, bryophytes present a nuanced response to changes in water availability and offer a unique opportunity to understand the relationship between traits and environmental properties on a microclimate level. Water holding capacity (WHC) is a key functional trait that influences ecosystem hydrology. In this study we investigated variation in WHC among species, at different elevations, and at different organizational levels (individual shoots vs. intact moss mats). We expected to find that high elevation populations have higher WHC than low elevation populations of the same species and that mats would be better indicators of overall WHC of a given species. Our study focused on four species found across an elevational gradient at HJ Andrews experimental forest: Rhytidioposis robusta, Kindbergia oregana, Hylocomium splendens and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus. Samples were gathered from three sites representing high and low elevation populations of each species where possible. Specimens were exposed to a rehydration and desiccation experiment. Oven dry weights and weights taken intermittently during the drying process were used to calculate WHC. Mean WHC capacity differed among species (p
Recommended Citation
Lake, Meg; Diez, Jeff; Schulze, Mark; McCune, Bruce; Busby, Posy; Green, Sofia; Magori, Krisztian; and Allen, Jessi, "Differential water holding capacity in bryophyte species and organizational levels" (2024). 2024 Symposium. 5.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2024/op_2024/o3_2024/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Differential water holding capacity in bryophyte species and organizational levels
PAT 326
A species’ ecological role and distribution is driven by its functional traits. As non-vascular, poikilohydric plants, bryophytes present a nuanced response to changes in water availability and offer a unique opportunity to understand the relationship between traits and environmental properties on a microclimate level. Water holding capacity (WHC) is a key functional trait that influences ecosystem hydrology. In this study we investigated variation in WHC among species, at different elevations, and at different organizational levels (individual shoots vs. intact moss mats). We expected to find that high elevation populations have higher WHC than low elevation populations of the same species and that mats would be better indicators of overall WHC of a given species. Our study focused on four species found across an elevational gradient at HJ Andrews experimental forest: Rhytidioposis robusta, Kindbergia oregana, Hylocomium splendens and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus. Samples were gathered from three sites representing high and low elevation populations of each species where possible. Specimens were exposed to a rehydration and desiccation experiment. Oven dry weights and weights taken intermittently during the drying process were used to calculate WHC. Mean WHC capacity differed among species (p
Comments
This abstract ends with a, (p... which seems like not all of the abstract was submitted?