Phenotypic variation in heteroblastic woody species does not contribute to shade survival.

Background And Aims: Leaf heteroblasty involves dramatic phenotypic differences between adult and seedling leaves while leaves of homoblastic plants display only small differences. This study tested whether, in low-light environments, the marked difference in the morphology of seedling leaves that characterizes heteroblastic species confers advantages for seedling survival and growth compared with homoblastic congeners.

Methodology: Four pairs of heteroblastic and homoblastic species in genera Hoheria, Aristotelia, Pseudopanax and Melicope were grown in simulated full sunlight (100 % of light, red:far red ratio (R:FR) = 1.

Plants can use protein as a nitrogen source without assistance from other organisms.

Nitrogen is quantitatively the most important nutrient that plants acquire from the soil. It is well established that plant roots take up nitrogen compounds of low molecular mass, including ammonium, nitrate, and amino acids. However, in the soil of natural ecosystems, nitrogen occurs predominantly as proteins.