Publications by authors named "J E Knops"

Plants display a range of temporal patterns of inter-annual reproduction, from relatively constant seed production to "mast seeding," the synchronized and highly variable interannual seed production of plants within a population. Previous efforts have compiled global records of seed production in long-lived plants to gain insight into seed production, forest and animal population dynamics, and the effects of global change on masting. Existing datasets focus on seed production dynamics at the population scale but are limited in their ability to examine community-level mast seeding dynamics across different plant species at the continental scale.

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Clonal perennial grasses are the dominant species in almost all natural grasslands, however their seed production is typically low. The reasons why seed set is so low remains unclear. We studied a rhizomatous grass (Leymus chinensis) using C tracing the different photosynthetic organs to investigate carbon fixation and allocation during the seed-filling stage.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines the relationship between tree maturation size and reproduction, finding that larger tree species tend to start reproducing at a smaller size than expected, challenging previous assumptions.
  • - Researchers analyzed seed production data from 486 tree species across different climates, revealing that maturation size increases with maximum size but not in a straightforward manner.
  • - The results indicate that this trend is particularly pronounced in colder climates, highlighting the importance of understanding maturation size to better predict how forests will respond to climate change and disturbances.
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