Abstract Detail

Ecology

Bylander, Michael Robert [1], Mitchell, Nora [2].

Soil nutrients do not impact leaf investment strategies in sunflowers across the Upper Midwest.

Climate change is impacting many organisms and ecosystems as average precipitation and temperature change across the globe. This research builds upon my team's previous research that asked how plant leaf investment strategies vary across climatic gradients using sunflower (Helianthus) species as a model system. Our team collected data on three species of sunflower (H. grosseserratus, H. maximiliani, and H. giganteus) across the Upper Midwest in the summer 2020. In 2020, we found a correlation between temperature and specific leaf area (SLA), a measure of plant investment. I was interested in the effects of soil nutrients on SLA, so in the summer of 2021 I collected soil samples from the original sites. These samples were analyzed and broken down into 22 variables related to nutrients, pH levels, etc. These variables were analyzed against SLA and climatic data to increase our understanding of the role of soil in the study relative to climate. We found no significant evidence of relationships between any of the soil variables analyzed and SLA. This strengthens the initial finding that a shift toward more conservative leaf investment strategies may occur in areas experiencing higher average temperature under future climate change (not necessarily related to soil nutrients).

1 - University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, 651 University Drive, 330 Phillips Hall, Eau Claire, WI, 54701, United States
2 - University Of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, Department Of Biology, 651 University Drive, 330 Phillips Hall, Eau Claire, WI, 54701, United States

Keywords:
SLA
Climate Gradients 
Soil.

Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PEC044
Abstract ID:133
Candidate for Awards:None