Host plant phenology (as influenced by seasonality) and light-mediated changes in the phenotypic and phytochemical properties of leaves have been hypothesised to equivocally influence insect herbivore performance. Here, we examined the effects of seasonality, through host plant phenology (late growth-season = autumn vs flowering-season = winter) and light environment (shade vs full-sun habitat)...

In tropical dry forests most plants are deciduous during the dry season and flush leaves with the onset of the rains. In Costa Rica, the only species displaying the opposite pattern is Bonellia nervosa. To determine if seasonal changes in light availability are associated with the leaf and reproductive phenology of this species, we monitored leaf production, survival, and life span, as well as ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Plants have complex mechanisms of aerial biomass exposition, which depend on bud composition, the period of the year in which shoot extension occurs, branching pattern, foliage persistence, herbivory and environmental conditions. METHODS The influence of water availability and temperature on shoot growth, the bud composition, the leaf phenology, and the relationship betwee...

The impacts of α-tocopherol, glycine betaine (GB) and salicylic acid (SA) applications on higher plants have been the subject of many studies, with special emphasis on oxidative stress tolerance under adverse conditions. However, little work has been carried out on rice responses to α-tocopherol, GB or SA under non-stress conditions, in which yield could potentially increased. This study determ...

Spring leaf phenology and its response to climate change have crucial effects on surface albedo, carbon balance, the water cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. Based long-term (period 1963–2014) in situ observations budburst date unfolding more than 300 deciduous woody species from 32 sites across temperate zone China, we conducted model-data comparison spatial temporal variations for spring calcul...

The edge of a forest fragment can be considered a zone of transition between the interior of the fragment and the surrounding habitat matrix. Plants along the edge are more exposed to disturbance and microclimate variation than interior plants, resulting in the so-called edge effect. In this study, we compared leaf area, fluctuating asymmetry and chemical (water, nitrogen and tannins) leaf trai...

Many organisms rely on synchronizing the timing of their life-history events with those of other trophic levels-known as phenological matching-for survival or successful reproduction. In temperate deciduous forests, the extent of matching with the budburst date of key tree species is of particular relevance for many herbivorous insects and, in turn, insectivorous birds. In order to understand t...

to predict growth and yield, it is needed to study sub-models of phenology, dry matter production and partitioning, leaf area and soil water balance. in the present study, for predicting yield of faba bean under gorgan conditions, parameters of sub-models were estimated using data of planting dates in gorgan and data of other researchers in different regions of world. daily variations of phenol...