Abstract
Abstract Estimating plasticity of leaf silicon (Si) in response to abiotic and biotic factors underpins our comprehension of plant defences and stress resistance in natural and agroecosystems. However, how nitrogen (N) addition and intraspecific plant–plant interactions affect Si concentration remains unclear. We grew 19 durum wheat genotypes ( Triticum turgidum ssp. durum ) in pots, either alone or in intra‐ or intergenotypic cultures of two individuals, and with or without N. Above‐ground biomass, plant height and leaf [Si] were quantified at the beginning of the flowering stage. Nitrogen addition decreased leaf [Si] for most genotypes, proportionally to the biomass increase. Si plasticity to plant–plant interactions varied significantly among genotypes, with both increases and decreases in leaf [Si] when mixed with a neighbour, regardless of the mixture type (intra‐/intergenotype). Besides, increased leaf [Si] in response to plant–plant interactions was associated with increased plant height. Our results suggest the occurrence of both facilitation and competition for Si uptake from the rhizosphere in wheat mixtures. Future research should identify which leaf and root traits characterise facilitating neighbours for Si acquisition. We also show that Si could be involved in height gain in response to intraspecific competition, possibly for increasing light capture. This important finding opens up new research directions on Si and plant–plant interactions in both natural ecosystems and agroecosystems. More generally, our results stress the need to explore leaf Si plasticity in responses to both abiotic and biotic factors to understand plant stress resistance. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen addition decreased leaf silicon for most wheat genotypes.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- Nitrogen additione0
- Outcome
- leaf [Si]e0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Qualifier
- most genotypese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Nitrogen addition decreased leaf [Si] for most genotypes”
t0“wheat genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
The nitrogen-associated decline in leaf silicon was proportional to increased biomass.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- biomass increasee0
- Outcome
- leaf [Si]e0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“decreased leaf [Si] for most genotypes, proportionally to the biomass increase”
t0“wheat genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon plasticity in response to plant interactions varied significantly among genotypes.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Material
- genotypese0
- Outcome
- Si plasticity to plant–plant interactionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si plasticity to plant–plant interactions varied significantly among genotypes”
t0“wheat genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
Neighbor mixing increased leaf silicon in some genotypes.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- mixed with a neighboure0
- Outcome
- leaf [Si]e0
- Direction
- increasese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increases and decreases in leaf [Si] when mixed with a neighbour”
t0“wheat genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
Neighbor mixing decreased leaf silicon in some genotypes.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Treatment
- mixed with a neighboure0
- Outcome
- leaf [Si]e0
- Direction
- decreasese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increases and decreases in leaf [Si] when mixed with a neighbour”
t0“wheat genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
Greater leaf silicon response to neighbors was associated with taller plants.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Compound
- Sie0
- Outcome
- plant heighte0
- Direction
- increasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased leaf [Si] in response to plant–plant interactions was associated with increased plant height”
t0“wheat genotypes”
Claim · model-written summary
Authors infer both facilitation and competition for silicon uptake in wheat mixtures.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Outcome
- Si uptakee0
- Qualifier
- both facilitation and competitione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“occurrence of both facilitation and competition for Si uptake from the rhizosphere in wheat mixtures”
Claim · model-written summary
Silicon may contribute to height gain under intraspecific competition.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Compound
- Sie0
- Outcome
- height gaine0
- Qualifier
- in response to intraspecific competitione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Si could be involved in height gain in response to intraspecific competition”
t0“wheat genotypes”
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