Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought

We investigated how water restriction affects plant–plant interactions in two Mediterranean shrubs, Thymus carnosus Boiss and Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss, to test whether intra- and interspecific interactions between these species respond differently to drought. A greenhouse experiment was conducte...

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Autores: Zunzunegui González, María, Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz, Díaz Antunes-Barradas, María Cruz, Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista, Álvarez Cansino, Leonor
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/176896
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/176896
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172663
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Biomass allocation
Plant–plant interaction
Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss
Shoot water potential
Thymus carnosus Boiss
Leaf stable isotopes
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spelling Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental DroughtZunzunegui González, MaríaEsquivias Segura, María de la PazDíaz Antunes-Barradas, María CruzGallego Fernández, Juan BautistaÁlvarez Cansino, LeonorBiomass allocationPlant–plant interactionRetama monosperma (L.) BoissShoot water potentialThymus carnosus BoissLeaf stable isotopesWe investigated how water restriction affects plant–plant interactions in two Mediterranean shrubs, Thymus carnosus Boiss and Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss, to test whether intra- and interspecific interactions between these species respond differently to drought. A greenhouse experiment was conducted with 5-month-old seedlings under three interaction types (interspecific, isolation, and intraspecific). After a 7-month growth phase, a water restriction treatment was imposed, and shoot water potential and photochemical efficiency of chlorophyll were monitored weekly. Biomass allocation and stable isotope composition were analysed at the end of the experiment. Retama plants growing alone exhibited the highest relative elongation rate (9.6 cm day−1 per plant), whereas for the combinations involving Thymus, the highest relative elongation rate occurred under intraspecific competition (3.63 cm day−1 per plant). Results showed a negative effect of Retama on Thymus regarding drought response, while Thymus exhibited an intraspecific facilitation effect, improving growth and reducing water stress. Although Thymus produced less biomass than Retama—with Retama producing over 2 g root biomass per plant compared to 0.25 g in Thymus and >7 g aboveground biomass versus 2.7 g in Thymus—it maintained better physiological response to drought than Retama, where all combinations involving Retama showed water potential below −2.3 MPa in both species. These findings reveal contrasting strategies: Retama prioritises rapid growth but is drought-sensitive, whereas Thymus benefits from intraspecific facilitation that enhances drought tolerance. Our results highlight how drought can alter the balance between competition and facilitation in plant interactions, with implications for Mediterranean plant communities’ dynamics under climate change.MDPIBiología Vegetal y EcologíaMinisterio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC). España2025info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/176896https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172663reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevillainstname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)InglésPlants, 14 (17), 2663.CGL2005-02142https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172663info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:idus.us.es:11441/1768962026-06-17T12:51:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
title Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
spellingShingle Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
Zunzunegui González, María
Biomass allocation
Plant–plant interaction
Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss
Shoot water potential
Thymus carnosus Boiss
Leaf stable isotopes
title_short Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
title_full Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
title_fullStr Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
title_full_unstemmed Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
title_sort Interspecific Competition and Intraspecific Facilitation Shape Coastal Dune Shrub Responses to Experimental Drought
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Zunzunegui González, María
Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz
Díaz Antunes-Barradas, María Cruz
Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
Álvarez Cansino, Leonor
author Zunzunegui González, María
author_facet Zunzunegui González, María
Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz
Díaz Antunes-Barradas, María Cruz
Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
Álvarez Cansino, Leonor
author_role author
author2 Esquivias Segura, María de la Paz
Díaz Antunes-Barradas, María Cruz
Gallego Fernández, Juan Bautista
Álvarez Cansino, Leonor
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Biología Vegetal y Ecología
Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC). España
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Biomass allocation
Plant–plant interaction
Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss
Shoot water potential
Thymus carnosus Boiss
Leaf stable isotopes
topic Biomass allocation
Plant–plant interaction
Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss
Shoot water potential
Thymus carnosus Boiss
Leaf stable isotopes
description We investigated how water restriction affects plant–plant interactions in two Mediterranean shrubs, Thymus carnosus Boiss and Retama monosperma (L.) Boiss, to test whether intra- and interspecific interactions between these species respond differently to drought. A greenhouse experiment was conducted with 5-month-old seedlings under three interaction types (interspecific, isolation, and intraspecific). After a 7-month growth phase, a water restriction treatment was imposed, and shoot water potential and photochemical efficiency of chlorophyll were monitored weekly. Biomass allocation and stable isotope composition were analysed at the end of the experiment. Retama plants growing alone exhibited the highest relative elongation rate (9.6 cm day−1 per plant), whereas for the combinations involving Thymus, the highest relative elongation rate occurred under intraspecific competition (3.63 cm day−1 per plant). Results showed a negative effect of Retama on Thymus regarding drought response, while Thymus exhibited an intraspecific facilitation effect, improving growth and reducing water stress. Although Thymus produced less biomass than Retama—with Retama producing over 2 g root biomass per plant compared to 0.25 g in Thymus and >7 g aboveground biomass versus 2.7 g in Thymus—it maintained better physiological response to drought than Retama, where all combinations involving Retama showed water potential below −2.3 MPa in both species. These findings reveal contrasting strategies: Retama prioritises rapid growth but is drought-sensitive, whereas Thymus benefits from intraspecific facilitation that enhances drought tolerance. Our results highlight how drought can alter the balance between competition and facilitation in plant interactions, with implications for Mediterranean plant communities’ dynamics under climate change.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11441/176896
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172663
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/176896
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172663
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Plants, 14 (17), 2663.
CGL2005-02142
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14172663
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
publisher.none.fl_str_mv MDPI
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
instname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,811543

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