AI Article Synopsis
- The traditional view that woody plant species thrive on oceanic islands due to gradual adaptation to climate is challenged by a new hypothesis suggesting that woodiness may be an adaptation to volcanic ash deposition.* -
- The frequent eruptions on oceanic islands create substantial ash deposits, which may select for woody plants as they have a better ability to avoid being buried and can re-emerge above the surface.* -
- Observations from La Palma in April 2022, following volcanic eruptions, showed that while most herbs and grasses struggled, many woody endemic plants flourished in areas with over 10 cm of ash, supporting the new hypothesis.*
Article Abstract
The high proportion of woody plant species on oceanic islands has hitherto been explained mainly by gradual adaptation to climatic conditions. Here, we present a novel hypothesis that such woodiness is adaptative to volcanic ash (tephra) deposition. Oceanic islands are subject to frequent eruptions with substantial and widespread ash deposition on evolutionary time scales. We postulate that this selects for woodiness through an increased ability to avoid burial of plant organs by ash, and to re-emerge above the new land surface. We sense-checked using observations of plant occurrences and distributions on La Palma (Canary Islands) in April 2022, 4 months after the end of the eruptions of the Tajogaite volcano (Cumbre Vieja ridge). In contrast to herbs and grasses, most woody plants persisted and were already in full flower in areas with 10+ cm ash deposition. Remarkably, these persisting woody plants were almost exclusively endemics.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11332210 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s44185-023-00018-2 | DOI Listing |
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