Abstract
Field experiments reporting the relative growth rate (RGR) patterns in plants are scarce. In this study, 22 herbaceous species (20 Aegilops species, Amblyopyrum muticum and Triticum aestivum) were grown under field conditions to assess their RGR, and to find out if the differences in RGR amongst species were explained by morphological or physiological traits. Plants were cultivated during two months, and five harvests (every 13–19 days) were carried out. Factors explaining between-species differences in RGR varied, depending on whether short (13–19 days) or longer periods (62 days) were considered. RGR for short periods (4 growth periods of 13–19 days each) showed a positive correlation with net assimilation rate (NAR), but there was no significant correlation with leaf area ratio (LAR) (with the exception of the first growth period). In contrast, when growth was investigated over two months, RGR was positively correlated with morphological traits (LAR, and specific leaf area, SLA), but not with physiological traits (NAR). A possible explanation for these contrasting results is that during short growth periods, NAR exhibited strong variations possibly caused by the variable field conditions, and, consequently NAR mainly determined RGR. In contrast, during a longer growth period (62 days) the importance of NAR was not apparent (there was no significant correlation between RGR and NAR), while allocation traits, such as LAR and SLA, became most relevant.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
I Antúnez E C Retamosa R Villar (2001) ArticleTitleRelative growth rate in phylogenetically related deciduous and evergreen woody species Oecologia 128 172–180 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s004420100645
O K Atkin B Botman H Lambers (1996) ArticleTitleThe causes of inherently slow growth in alpine plants: An analysis based on the underlying carbon economies of alpine and lowland Poa species Funct. Ecol. 10 698–707
I Cakmak O Cakmak S Eker A Ozdemir N Watanabe H J Braun (1999) ArticleTitleExpression of high zinc efficiency of Aegilops tauschii and Triticum monococcum in synthetic hexaploid wheats Plant Soil 215 203–209 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1004504726214 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXhslWqtb4%3D
J H C Cornelissen P Castro Diez R Hunt (1996) ArticleTitleSeedling growth allocation and leaf attributes in a wide range of woody plant species and types J. Ecol. 84 755–765
C C Groot ParticleDe L F M Marcelis R Boogaard Particlevan den W M Kaiser H Lambers (2003) ArticleTitleInteraction of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition in determining growth Plant Soil 248 257–268
D García J Rodríguez P Panadero T Marañón R Villar (1997) Tasas de crecimiento en 21 especies de trigo silvestre y su relación con la tasa de fotosíntesis y la concentración de nitrógeno foliar R Sarmiento E O Leidi A Troncoso (Eds) Nutrición mineral de las plantas en la agricultura sostenible. Junta de Andalucía Consejería de Agricultura y Pesca Sevilla 83–90
E Garnier (1992) ArticleTitleGrowth analysis of congeneric annual and perennial grass species J. Ecol. 80 665–675
E Garnier A H J Freijsen (1994) On ecological inference from laboratory experiments conducted under optimum conditions J Roy E Garnier (Eds) A Whole Perspective on Carbon-Nitrogen Interactions SPB Academic Publishing The Hague 267–292
J P Grime R Hunt (1975) ArticleTitleRelative growth-rate: Its range and adaptive significance in a local flora J. Ecol. 63 393–422
D E B Higgs D B James (1969) ArticleTitleComparative studies on the biology of upland grasses I. Rate of dry matter production and its control in four grass species J. Ecol. 57 553–563
W A Hoffmann H Poorter (2002) ArticleTitleAvoiding bias in calculations of relative growth rate Ann. Bot. 80 37–42
R Hunt (1990) Basic Growth Analysis Unwin Hyman Ltd London 112
R Hunt (2003) Growth Analysis, Individual Plants B Thomas D J Murphy D Murray (Eds) Encyclopaedia of Applied Plant Sciences Academic Press London 579–588
R Hunt D R Causton B Shipley P Askew (2002) ArticleTitleA modern tool for classical plant growth analysis Ann. Bot. 90 485–488 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD38vovVartA%3D%3D Occurrence Handle12324272
R Hunt I T Parson (1974) ArticleTitleA computer program for deriving growth-functions in plant growth-analysis J. Appl. Ecol. 11 297–307
H Konings (1989) Physiological and morphological differences between plants with a high NAR or a high LAR as related to environmental conditions H Lambers M L Cambridge H Konings T L Pons (Eds) Causes and Consequences of Variation in Growth Rate and Productivity of Higher Plants SPB Academic Publishing The Hague 101–123
H Lambers F S Chapin SuffixIII T L Pons (1998) Plant physiological ecology Springer-Verlag New York 540
H Lambers H Poorter (1992) ArticleTitleInherent variation in growth rate between higher plants: A search for physiological causes and ecological consequences Adv. Ecol. Res. 23 187–261 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK3sXksVGiu7w%3D
H Lambers R Vanden Boogaard E J Veneklaas R Villar (1995) ArticleTitleEffects of global environmental change on carbon partitioning in vegetative plants of Triticum aestivum and closely related Aegilops species Global Change Biol. 1 397–406
B R Loveys I Scheurwater T L Pons A H Fitter O K Atkin (2002) ArticleTitleGrowth temperature influences the underlying components of relative growth rate: An investigation using inherently fast- and slow- growing plant species Plant Cell Environ. 25 975–997
T Marañón (1989) ArticleTitleVariations in seed size and germination in three Aegilops species Seed Sci. Technol. 17 583–588
T Marañón P J Grubb (1993) ArticleTitlePhysiological basis and ecological significance of the seed size and relative growth rate relationship in Mediterranean annuals Funct. Ecol. 7 591–599
H Poorter M Bergkotte (1992) ArticleTitleChemical composition of 24 wild species differing in relative growth rate Plant Cell Environ. 15 221–229 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK38XitlajsbY%3D
H Poorter E Garnier (1996) ArticleTitlePlant growth analysis: An evaluation of experimental design and computational methods J. Exp. Bot. 47 1343–1351 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK28XmslWlsr4%3D
H Poorter E Garnier (1999) Ecological significance of inherent variation in relative growth rate and its components F Pugnaire F Valladares (Eds) Handbook of Functional Plant Ecology Marcel Dekker Inc. New York 82–120
H Poorter P Pothmann (1992) ArticleTitleGrowth and carbon economy of a fast- and slow- growing grass species as dependent on ontogeny New Phytol. 120 159–166
H Poorter C Remkes (1990) ArticleTitleLeaf area ratio and net assimilation rate of 24 wild species differing in relative growth rate Oecologia 83 553–559
H Poorter A Werf ParticleVan der (1998) Is inherent variation in RGR determined by LAR at low irradiance and by NAR at high irradiance? A review of herbaceous species H Lambers H Poorter MMI Vuuren Particlevan (Eds) Inherent Variation in Plant Growth Physiological Mechanisms and Ecological Consequences Backhuys Publishers Leiden 309–336
J M Romero T Marañón (1994) ArticleTitleLong-term responses of Melilotus segetalis to salinity. I Growth and partitioning Plant Cell Environ. 17 1243–1248
B Shipley (2000a) ArticleTitlePlasticity in relative growth rate and its components following a change in irradiance Plant Cell Environ. 23 1207–1216
B Shipley (2000b) Cause and Correlation in Biology. Structural Equations and Causal Inference Cambridge University Press A User’s Guide to Path Analysis 317
B Shipley (2002) ArticleTitleTrade-offs between net assimilation rate and specific leaf area in determining relative growth rate: Relationship with daily irradiance Funct. Ecol. 16 682–689
B Shipley (2004) ArticleTitleAnalysing the allometry of multiple interacting traits Perspect Plant Ecol. 6 235–241
Statsoft Inc 1997 Statistica for Windows Release 5.1. Computer Program Manual. Tulsa OK, USA.
F Valladares E Martinez-Ferri L Balaguer E Perez-Corona E Manrique (2000) ArticleTitleLow leaf-level response to light and nutrients in Mediterranean evergreen oaks: A conservative resource-use strategy? New Phytol. 148 79–91 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3cXnvVeqs7k%3D
J Andel ParticleVan J C Jager (1981) ArticleTitleAnalysis of growth and nutrition of six plant species of woodland clearings J. Ecol. 69 871–882
R Boogaard ParticleVan den S Goubitz E Veneklaas H Lambers (1996) ArticleTitleCarbon and nitrogen economy of 4 Triticum aestivum cultivars differing in relative growth rate and water use efficiency Plant Cell Environ. 19 998–1004
R Boogaard ParticleVan den R Villar (1998) Variation in growth and water-use efficiency – a comparison of Aegilops species and Triticum aestivum L. cultivars H Lambers H Poorter M M I Vuuren Particlevan (Eds) Inherent Variation in Plant Growth. Physiological Mechanisms and Ecological Consequences Backhuys Publishers Leiden 289–308
M W Slageren ParticleVan (1994) Wild Wheats: A Monograph of Aegilops L and Amblyopyrum Jaub and Spach Eig Poaceae Agricultural University Wageningen The Netherlands 512
R Villar E J Veneklaas P Jordano H Lambers (1998) ArticleTitleRelative growth rate and biomass allocation in 20 Aegilops (Poaceae) species New Phytol. 140 425–437
I J Wright M Westoby (2001) ArticleTitleUnderstanding seedling growth relationships through specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen concentration: Generalisations across growth forms and growth irradiance Oecologia 127 21–29
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Villar, R., Marañón, T., Quero, J.L. et al. Variation in relative growth rate of 20 Aegilops species (Poaceae) in the field: The importance of net assimilation rate or specific leaf area depends on the time scale. Plant Soil 272, 11–27 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-004-3846-8
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-004-3846-8