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Ecogeographical determinants of investment in chemical defences in pines

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Pine tree species exhibit significant levels of phenotypic variation in the investment in defences, which can be correlated with life-history traits, geographical affiliations and climate.

Abstract

Understanding the ecological and environmental correlates of tree defences has value for understanding forest susceptibility to pests and pathogens in a time of global change. In the present work, we assessed how life-history attributes and biogeography are related to chemical defences of pine trees in Palaearctic and Nearctic forests. We studied adult trees of ten pine species in forests of Portugal and Eastern North America. We measured total phenols (using gallic acid as a standard) and condensed tannins (as catechin hydrate equivalents) in the phloem of pine branches. Pine trees in forests of Eastern North America presented higher levels of total phenolic content in their phloem tissues than pine trees in forests in Portugal. Higher values of precipitation were correlated with higher phenolic content and higher temperatures were associated with higher levels of condensed tannins. A few life-history traits—the maximum height reached by each pine species, the age at which they start reproducing, and the size of seeds—were positively related with defences. The present work points to interactions between life-history attributes, climate, and geographic location as predictors of defensive investment in pines. The results are useful for understanding differences within and among pine forests in susceptibility to pests and pathogens.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Carla Rodrigues for the discussion and implementation of the methods for chemical analysis, and Ana Tomás and Arborea (Vinhais, Portugal) for all the support they provided during field work in the northeast of Portugal. We also thank Erwin Beck for constructive comments and suggestions that greatly improved the paper.

Funding

This study was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through: the projects PTDC/AGR-CFL/098869/2008 and PTDC/ASP-SIL/29774/2017 (also funded by the programmes COMPETE 2020 and Portugal 2020 from the European Regional Development Fund FEDER); the grant SFRH/BPD/46995/2008 and the contract DL57/2016/CP1382/CT0009 conceded to C.S. Pimentel: funding conceded to the Forest Research Centre—UIDB/00239/2020); and to CENSE—UIDB/04085/2020. Additional support to the work in the USA was provided by a grant provided by the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) in support to the FCT project PTDC/AGR-CFL/098869/2008.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest Research Centre (CEF), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carla S. Pimentel

  2. Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016, Lisbon, Portugal

    Elsa V. Gonçalves, Otília Correia & Cristina Máguas

  3. CENSE-Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research and CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal

    João Campôa & Teresa Calvão

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Matthew P. Ayres

Authors
  1. Carla S. Pimentel
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  2. Elsa V. Gonçalves
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  3. João Campôa
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  4. Teresa Calvão
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  7. Cristina Máguas
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Contributions

CSP and MPA conceptualized the ideas behind the work; CSP, EVG and MPA collected the samples in the Field; CM, OC and EVG conceptualized the work on the secondary metabolites, while EVG did all the analytical work; JC and TC collected and analysed the data on life-history, geographical and environmental variables of the different pine species; CSP analysed the data and wrote the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Carla S. Pimentel.

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Pimentel, C.S., Gonçalves, E.V., Campôa, J. et al. Ecogeographical determinants of investment in chemical defences in pines. Trees 37, 361–372 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-022-02354-5

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