Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Do co-occurring plant species adapt to one another? The response of Bromus erectus to the presence of different Thymus vulgaris chemotypes

  • Community Ecology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Local modification of the soil environment by individual plants may affect the performance and composition of associated plant species. The aromatic plant Thymus vulgaris has the potential to modify the soil through leaching of water-soluble compounds from leaves and litter decomposition. In southern France, six different thyme chemotypes can be distinguished based on the dominant monoterpene in the essential oil, which is either phenolic or non-phenolic in structure. We examine how soils from within and away from thyme patches in sites dominated by either phenolic or non-phenolic chemotypes affect germination, growth and reproduction of the associated grass species Bromus erectus. To do so, we collected seeds of B. erectus from three phenolic and three non-phenolic sites. Seeds and seedlings were grown on soils from these sites in a reciprocal transplant type experiment in the glasshouse. Brome of non-phenolic origin performed significantly better on its home soil than on soil from a different non-phenolic or a phenolic site. This response to local chemotypes was only observed on soil collected directly underneath thyme plants and not on soil in the same site (<5 m away) but where no thyme plants were present. This is preliminary evidence that brome plants show an adaptive response to soil modifications mediated by the local thyme chemotypes. Reproductive effort was consistently higher in brome of phenolic origin than in brome of non-phenolic origin (on both thyme- and grass-soil), indicating that life-history variation may be related to environmental factors which also contribute to the spatial differentiation of thyme chemotypes. Moreover, we found that brome growing on thyme-soil in general was heavier than when growing on grass-soil, regardless of the origin of the brome plants. This is concordant with thyme-soil containing higher amounts of organic matter and nitrogen than grass-soil. Our results indicate that patterns of genetic differentiation and local adaptation may modify competitive interactions and possible facilitation effects in natural communities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3a,b

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aronson J, Kigel J, Shmida A (1993) Reproductive allocation strategies in desert and Mediterranean populations of annual plants grown with and without water stress. Oecologia 93:336–342

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertness MD, Callaway R (1994) Positive interactions in communities. Trends Ecol Evol 9:191–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boettcher SE, Kalisz PJ (1990) Single tree influence on soil properties in the mountains of eastern Kentucky. Ecology 71:1365–1372

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruno JF, Stachowicz JJ, Bertness MD (2004) Inclusion of facilitation into ecological theory. Trends Ecol Evol (in press)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM (1995) Positive interactions among plants. Bot Rev 61:306–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Nadkarni NM, Mahall BE (1991) Facilitation and interference of Querqus Douglasii on understory productivity in Central California. Ecology 72:1484–1499

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaway RM, Kikvidze Z, Kikodze D (2000) Facilitation by unpalatable weeds may conserve plant diversity in overgrazed meadows in the Caucasus Mountains. Oikos 89:275–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Charley JL, West NE (1975) Plant-induced soil chemical patterns in some shrub-dominated semi-desert ecosystems of Utah. J Ecol 63:945–963

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franks SJ (2003) Facilitation in multiple life-history stages: evidence for nucleated succession in coastal dunes. Plant Ecol 168:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman J, Orshan G (1975) The distribution, emergence and survival of seedlings of Artemisia herba alba Asso in the Negev desert of Israel in relation to distance from the adult plants. J Ecol 63:627–632

    Google Scholar 

  • Gouyon PH, Vernet P, Guillerm JL, Valdeyron G (1986) Polymorphisms and environment: the adaptive value of the oil polymorphisms in Thymus vulgaris L. Heredity 57:59–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Granger R, Passet J (1973) Thymus vulgaris L. spontané de France: races chimiques et chemotaxonomie. Phytochemistry 12:1683–1691

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP, Cornelissen JHC, Thompson K, Hodgson JG (1996) Evidence of a causal connection between anti-herbivore defence and the decomposition rate of leaves. Oikos 77:489–494

    Google Scholar 

  • Heisey RM, Delwiche CC (1985) Allelopathic effects of Trichostema lanceolatum (Labiateae) in the California annual grassland. J Ecol 73:729–742

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrera CM (2002) Topsoil properties and seedling recruitment in Lavandula latifolia: stage dependence and spatial decoupling of influential parameters. Oikos 97:260–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loissaint P (1973) Soil-vegetation relationships in Mediterranean ecosytems of southern France. In: di Castri F, Mooney HA (eds) Mediterranean Type Ecosystems. Origin and structure. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 199–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Madritch MD, Hunter MD (2004) Phenotypic diversity and litter chemistry affect nutrient dynamics during litter decomposition in a two species mix. Oikos 105:125–131

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maestre FT, Bautista S, Cortina J (2003) Positive, negative, and net effects in grass-shrub interactions in Mediterranean semiarid grasslands. Ecology 2003:3186–3197

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez ML (2003) Facilitation of seedling establishment by an endemic shrub in tropical coastal sand dunes. Plant Ecol 168:333–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McPherson JK, Muller CH (1969) Allelopathic effects of Adenostoma fasiculatum “chamise” in the California chaparral. Ecol Monogr 39:177–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulder CPH, Uliassi DD, Doak DF (2001) Physical stress and diversity-productivity relationships: the role of positive interactions. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:6704–6708

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Preston CA, Baldwin IT (1999) Positive and negative signals regulate germination in the post-fire annual Nicotiana attenuate. Ecology 80:481–494

    Google Scholar 

  • Pugnaire FI, Armas C, Valladares F (2004) Soil as a mediator in plant-plant interactions in a semiarid community. J Veg Sci 15:85–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Rice EL (1979) Allelopathy—an update. Bot Rev 45:15–109

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rousset O, Lepart J (2000) Positive and negative interactions at different life stages of a colonizing species (Quercus humilis). J Ecol 88:401–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS (1999) SAS/STAT Users guide, version eight. SAS, Cary

  • Schenk HJ, Mahall BE (2002) Positive and negative plant interactions contribute to a north-south-patterned association between two desert shrub species. Oecologia 132:402–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarayre M, Thompson JD, Escarré J, Linhart YB (1995) Intra-specific variation in the inhibitory effects of Thymus vulgaris (Labiatae) monoterpenes on seed germination. Oecologia 101:110–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Tewksbury JJ, Lloyd JD (2001) Positive interactions under nurse-plants: spatial scale, stress gradients and benefactor size. Oecologia 127:425–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JD (2002) Population structure and the spatial dynamics of genetic polymorphisms in thyme. In: Letchamo W, Saez F, Stahl-Biskup E (eds) Medicinal and aromatic plants—industrial profiles: the genus Thymus. Harwood Academic, Amsterdam, pp 44–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson JD, Chalchat JC, Michet A, Linhart YB, Ehlers B (2003) Qualitative and quantitative variation in monoterpene co-occurrence and composition in the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris chemotypes. J Chem Ecol 29:859–880

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vernet P, Guillerm JL, Gouyon PH (1977a) Le polymorphisme chimique de Thymus vulgaris L. (Labiée) I. Repartition des formes chimiques en relation avec certains facteurs écologiques. Oecol Plant 12:159–179

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernet P, Guillerm JL, Gouyon PH (1977b) Le polymorphisme chimique de Thymus vulgaris L. (Labiée) II. Carte à l’echelle 5000 des formes chimiques dans la région de Saint-Martin-de-Londres (Herault-France). Oecol Plant 12:181–194

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vernet P, Gouyon PH, Valdeyron G (1986) Genetic control of the oil content in Thymus vulgaris L.: a case of polymorphism in a biosynthetic chain. Genetica 69:227–231

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vokou D, Margaris NS (1984) Effects of volatile oils from aromatic shrubs on soil microorganisms. Soil Biol Biochem 16:509–513

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vokou D, Margaris NS (1988) Decomposition of terpenes by soil microorganisms. Pedobiologia 31:413–419

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson GB (1990) Allelopathy, Koch’s postulates, and the Neck riddle. In: Grace JB, Tilman T (eds) Perspectives on plant competition. Academic, London, pp 143–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Zinke PJ (1962) The pattern of influence of individual forest trees on soil properties. Ecology 43:130–133

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank M. Maistre, C. Colin, A. Dos Santos and D. Degeuldre for their help with data collection in the field and greenhouse, M. Debussche and A. Dos Santos for identification of species emerging from the seed bank, T. Bataillon and S. Lavergne for statistical advice and Y. B. Linhart, S. Debain, K. Keefover-Ring and anonymous reviewers for helpful discussion and comments on preliminary versions of the manuscript. The study was financed by the European Science Foundation (Program LINKECOL), the Danish National Science Research Council (B.K.E.) and the CNRS (J.D.T.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, build. 540, 8000, Århus C, Denmark

    Bodil K. Ehlers

  2. Centre d‘Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS, 1919 Route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier, cedex 5, France

    John Thompson

Authors
  1. Bodil K. Ehlers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bodil K. Ehlers.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ehlers, B.K., Thompson, J. Do co-occurring plant species adapt to one another? The response of Bromus erectus to the presence of different Thymus vulgaris chemotypes. Oecologia 141, 511–518 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1663-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1663-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation