Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants
At higher elevations in the European Alps, plants may experience winter temperatures of −30 °C and lower at snow-free sites. Vegetative organs are usually sufficiently frost hardy to survive such low temperatures, but it is largely unknown if this also applies to generative structures. We investigat...
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MDPI AG
2021
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b99691611b114e92b96900b7f81571a2 2023-05-15T18:04:31+02:00 Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants Johanna Wagner Karla Gruber Ursula Ladinig Othmar Buchner Gilbert Neuner 2021-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081507 https://doaj.org/article/b99691611b114e92b96900b7f81571a2 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/8/1507 https://doaj.org/toc/2223-7747 doi:10.3390/plants10081507 2223-7747 https://doaj.org/article/b99691611b114e92b96900b7f81571a2 Plants, Vol 10, Iss 1507, p 1507 (2021) alpine plants climate change ice nucleation ice propagation pattern freezing stress frost resistance Botany QK1-989 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081507 2022-12-30T20:20:08Z At higher elevations in the European Alps, plants may experience winter temperatures of −30 °C and lower at snow-free sites. Vegetative organs are usually sufficiently frost hardy to survive such low temperatures, but it is largely unknown if this also applies to generative structures. We investigated winter frost effects on flower buds in the cushion plants Saxifraga bryoides L. (subnival-nival) and Saxifraga moschata Wulfen (alpine-nival) growing at differently exposed sites, and the chionophilous cryptophyte Ranunculus glacialis L. (subnival-nival). Potted plants were subjected to short-time (ST) and long-time (LT) freezing between −10 and −30 °C in temperature-controlled freezers. Frost damage, ice nucleation and flowering frequency in summer were determined. Flower bud viability and flowering frequency decreased significantly with decreasing temperature and exposure time in both saxifrages. Already, −10 °C LT-freezing caused the first injuries. Below −20 °C, the mean losses were 47% (ST) and 75% (LT) in S. bryoides , and 19% (ST) and 38% (LT) in S. moschata . Winter buds of both saxifrages did not supercool, suggesting that damages were caused by freeze dehydration. R. glacialis remained largely undamaged down to −30 °C in the ST experiment, but did not survive permanent freezing below −20 °C. Winter snow cover is essential for the survival of flower buds and indirectly for reproductive fitness. This problem gains particular relevance in the context of winter periods with low precipitation and winter warming events leading to the melting of the protective snowpack. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ranunculus glacialis Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Plants 10 8 1507 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
alpine plants climate change ice nucleation ice propagation pattern freezing stress frost resistance Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
alpine plants climate change ice nucleation ice propagation pattern freezing stress frost resistance Botany QK1-989 Johanna Wagner Karla Gruber Ursula Ladinig Othmar Buchner Gilbert Neuner Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants |
topic_facet |
alpine plants climate change ice nucleation ice propagation pattern freezing stress frost resistance Botany QK1-989 |
description |
At higher elevations in the European Alps, plants may experience winter temperatures of −30 °C and lower at snow-free sites. Vegetative organs are usually sufficiently frost hardy to survive such low temperatures, but it is largely unknown if this also applies to generative structures. We investigated winter frost effects on flower buds in the cushion plants Saxifraga bryoides L. (subnival-nival) and Saxifraga moschata Wulfen (alpine-nival) growing at differently exposed sites, and the chionophilous cryptophyte Ranunculus glacialis L. (subnival-nival). Potted plants were subjected to short-time (ST) and long-time (LT) freezing between −10 and −30 °C in temperature-controlled freezers. Frost damage, ice nucleation and flowering frequency in summer were determined. Flower bud viability and flowering frequency decreased significantly with decreasing temperature and exposure time in both saxifrages. Already, −10 °C LT-freezing caused the first injuries. Below −20 °C, the mean losses were 47% (ST) and 75% (LT) in S. bryoides , and 19% (ST) and 38% (LT) in S. moschata . Winter buds of both saxifrages did not supercool, suggesting that damages were caused by freeze dehydration. R. glacialis remained largely undamaged down to −30 °C in the ST experiment, but did not survive permanent freezing below −20 °C. Winter snow cover is essential for the survival of flower buds and indirectly for reproductive fitness. This problem gains particular relevance in the context of winter periods with low precipitation and winter warming events leading to the melting of the protective snowpack. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Johanna Wagner Karla Gruber Ursula Ladinig Othmar Buchner Gilbert Neuner |
author_facet |
Johanna Wagner Karla Gruber Ursula Ladinig Othmar Buchner Gilbert Neuner |
author_sort |
Johanna Wagner |
title |
Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants |
title_short |
Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants |
title_full |
Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants |
title_fullStr |
Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter Frosts Reduce Flower Bud Survival in High-Mountain Plants |
title_sort |
winter frosts reduce flower bud survival in high-mountain plants |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081507 https://doaj.org/article/b99691611b114e92b96900b7f81571a2 |
genre |
Ranunculus glacialis |
genre_facet |
Ranunculus glacialis |
op_source |
Plants, Vol 10, Iss 1507, p 1507 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/8/1507 https://doaj.org/toc/2223-7747 doi:10.3390/plants10081507 2223-7747 https://doaj.org/article/b99691611b114e92b96900b7f81571a2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081507 |
container_title |
Plants |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1507 |
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1766175918317895680 |