Vovides, A. G. , Wimmler, M.-C., Schrewe, F., Balke, T. , Zwanzig, M., Piou, C., Delay, E., López-Portillo, J. and Berger, U. (2021) Cooperative root graft networks benefit mangrove trees under stress. Communications Biology, 4, 513. (doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-02044-x) (PMID:33953329) (PMCID:PMC8100114)
![[img]](https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
235086.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 2MB |
|
Text (Extended Data)
235086Suppl1.pdf - Supplemental Material 499kB |
|
Text
235086Suppl2.pdf - Supplemental Material 290kB |
Abstract
The occurrence of natural root grafts, the union of roots of the same or different trees, is common and shared across tree species. However, their significance for forest ecology remains little understood. While early research suggested negative effects of root grafting with the risk of pathogen transmission, recent evidence supports the hypothesis that it is an adaptive strategy that reduces stress by facilitating resource exchange. Here, by analysing mangrove root graft networks in a non-destructive way at stand level, we show further evidence of cooperation-associated benefits of root grafting. Grafted trees were found to dominate the upper canopy of the forest, and as the probability of grafting and the frequency of grafted groups increased with a higher environmental stress, the mean number of trees within grafted groups decreased. While trees do not actively ‘choose’ neighbours to graft to, our findings point to the existence of underlying mechanisms that regulate ‘optimal group size’ selection related to resource use within cooperating networks. This work calls for further studies to better understand tree interactions (i.e. network hydraulic redistribution) and their consequences for individual tree and forest stand resilience.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Vovides, Dr Alejandra and Balke, Dr Thorsten |
| Authors: | Vovides, A. G., Wimmler, M.-C., Schrewe, F., Balke, T., Zwanzig, M., Piou, C., Delay, E., López-Portillo, J., and Berger, U. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences |
| Journal Name: | Communications Biology |
| Publisher: | Nature Research |
| ISSN: | 2399-3642 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2399-3642 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2021 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Communications Biology 4: 513 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
| Related URLs: | |
| Data DOI: | 10.5525/gla.researchdata.657 |
University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record
Funder and Project Information
Funder and Project Information