Extremely thin but very robust: Surprising cryptogam trait combinations at the end of the leaf economics spectrum.

Leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes the fundamental trade-offs between leaf structural, chemical, and physiological investments. Generally, structurally robust thick leaves with high leaf dry mass per unit area (LMA) exhibit lower photosynthetic capacity per dry mass ( ). Paradoxically, "soft and thin-leaved" mosses and spikemosses have very low , but due to minute-size foliage elements, their LMA and its components, leaf thickness (LT) and density (LD), have not been systematically estimated.

Improved monitoring of cryptogam gas-exchange and volatile emissions during desiccation-rehydration cycles with a within-chamber hydration method.

Desiccation-rehydration studies in cryptogams constitute an important tool to understand the relation of key physiological traits with species stress tolerance and environmental adaptability. Real-time monitoring of responses has been limited by the design of commercial or custom measuring cuvettes and difficulties in experimental manipulation. We developed a within-chamber rehydration method that allows to rewater the samples rapidly, without the need to open the chamber and take out the sample for manual rehydration by the investigator.

Different tolerance to salinity of two populations of Oenothera drummondii with contrasted biogeographical origin.

Oenothera drummondii is a native species from the coastal dunes of the Gulf of Mexico that has nowadays extended to coastal areas in temperate zones all over the world, its invasion becoming a significant problem locally. The species grows on back beach and incipient dunes, where it can suffer flooding by seawater, and sea spray. We were interested in knowing how salinity affects this species and if invasive populations present morphological or functional traits that would provide greater tolerance to salinity than native ones.