Abstract
Abstract Aluminium (Al) hyper-accumulation is a common trait expressed by tropical woody plants growing on acidic soils. Studies on Al accumulators have suggested that Al addition may enhance plant growth rates, but the functional significance of this trait and the mechanistic basis of the growth response are uncertain. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that differential growth responses to Al among populations of an Al accumulator species are associated with variation in biomass allocation and nutrient uptake. We conducted two experiments to test differential responses to the presence of Al in the growth medium for seedlings of the Al accumulator shrub Melastoma malabathricum collected from 18 populations across Peninsular Malaysia. Total dry mass and relative growth rate of dry mass were significantly greater for seedlings that had received Al in the growth medium than for control plants that did not receive Al, but growth declined in response to 5.0 mM Al addition. The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition was greater for a fast-growing than a slow-growing population. The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition occurred despite a reduction in dry mass allocation to leaves, at the expense of higher allocation to roots and stems, for plants grown with Al. Foliar concentrations of P, K, Mg and Ca increased in response to Al addition and the first axis of a PCA summarizing foliar nutrient concentrations among populations was correlated positively with seedling relative growth rates. Some populations of the Al hyper-accumulator M. malabathricum express a physiological response to Al addition which leads to a stimulation of growth up to an optimum value of Al in the growth medium, beyond which growth declines. This was associated with enhanced nutrient concentrations in leaves, which suggests that Al accumulation functions to optimize elemental stoichiometry and growth rate.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium raised seedling total dry mass relative to controls.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricum
Melastoma malabathricume1 - Treatment
- Al in the growth mediume0
- Outcome
- Total dry masse0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- control plants that did not receive Ale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Total dry mass and relative growth rate of dry mass were significantly greater for seedlings that had received Al in the growth medium than for control plants that did not receive Al”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium raised seedling relative growth rate of dry mass relative to controls.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Treatment
- Al in the growth mediume0
- Outcome
- relative growth rate of dry masse0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- control plants that did not receive Ale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Total dry mass and relative growth rate of dry mass were significantly greater for seedlings that had received Al in the growth medium than for control plants that did not receive Al”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Growth declined with 5.0 mM aluminium addition.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Treatment
- 5.0 mM Al additione0
- Outcome
- growthe0
- Direction
- declinede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“growth declined in response to 5.0 mM Al addition”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium induced a greater growth rate increase in the fast-growing than slow-growing population.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Material
- fast-growinge0
- Treatment
- Al additione0
- Outcome
- growth ratee0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- slow-growing populatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The increase in growth rate in response to Al addition was greater for a fast-growing than a slow-growing population.”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium reduced dry mass allocation to leaves.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Treatment
- Ale0
- Outcome
- dry mass allocation to leavese0
- Direction
- reductione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a reduction in dry mass allocation to leaves, at the expense of higher allocation to roots and stems, for plants grown with Al”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium increased dry mass allocation to roots and stems.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Treatment
- Ale0
- Outcome
- allocation to roots and stemse0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“higher allocation to roots and stems, for plants grown with Al”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium increased foliar P, K, and Mg concentrations.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Treatment
- Al additione0
- Outcome
- Foliar concentrations of P, K, Mge0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Foliar concentrations of P, K, Mg and Ca increased in response to Al addition”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
Aluminium increased foliar Ca concentration.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Treatment
- Al additione0
- Outcome
- Cae0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Foliar concentrations of P, K, Mg and Ca increased in response to Al addition”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
A foliar nutrient concentration PCA axis correlated positively with seedling relative growth rates across populations.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Organ / stage
- seedlinge0
- Outcome
- seedling relative growth ratese0
- Direction
- positivelye0
- Qualifier
- first axis of a PCA summarizing foliar nutrient concentrations among populationse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the first axis of a PCA summarizing foliar nutrient concentrations among populations was correlated positively with seedling relative growth rates”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest aluminium accumulation optimizes elemental stoichiometry and growth rate.
- Taxon
- Melastoma malabathricumMelastoma malabathricume1
- Outcome
- elemental stoichiometry and growth ratee0
- Qualifier
- Al accumulatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“which suggests that Al accumulation functions to optimize elemental stoichiometry and growth rate”
e1“Melastoma malabathricum”
The same questions in other papers
aluminium atom · growth · Melastoma malabathricumResults differ
3 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
aluminium atom · nutrient: content · Melastoma malabathricumPositive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.