Reproductive phenology of Isolatocereus dumortieri (Cactaceae) in semiarid scrub in central Mexico: Effect of rain during the dry season |
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| Institution: | 1. División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, Tabasco, 86039, Mexico;2. Panthera Mexico, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, 37700, Mexico;3. Academia de Ingeniería Ambiental, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de los Ríos, Balancán, Tabasco, 86930, Mexico;4. Proyecto GEF Especies en Riesgo. CONANP-PNUD, Reserva de la Biósfera de Calakmul, Calakmul, Campeche, 24640, Mexico;1. College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China;2. University of Hohenheim, Biobased Products and Energy Crops (340b), Fruwirthstraße 23, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany;3. University of Hohenheim, Bioinformatics, Fruwirthstraße 23, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany;1. Academic Unit of Serra Talhada, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, Brazil;2. Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil;3. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil;1. Rural Federal University of Pernambuco, Serra Talhada, Pernambuco, Brazil;2. Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil;3. Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Petrolina, Pernambuco, Brazil;4. Federal University of São João del-Rei, Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, Brazil;1. Centre for Invasion Biology, Institute of Biodiversity, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan 650504, China;2. Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, Yunnan, China |
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| Abstract: | The giant cactus Isolatocereus dumortieri is a dominant species of the semiarid scrub of central Mexico. Its reproductive period is during the dry season, and it produces essential resources (pollen, nectar and fruits) for a great variety of animal species. We related the production of reproductive structures with water variables in the soil–plant system. The main goal of the present study was to evaluate the consequences of a change in rainfall pattern on the phenology of I. dumortieri. We watered some plants in the dry season to simulate heavy rain events, and to test the hypothesis that water availability during the reproductive season has a negative effect on fruiting and a positive effect on vegetative growth. The seasonality of rain events caused variations in soil water potential and plant osmotic potential, and we found that both variables influenced fruit production. The regression models relating the number of fruits with soil water potential, rainfall and osmotic potential were significant for all three study periods. The highest production of reproductive structures occurred in the driest year (2009), during which there was an ENSO event. Watering did not have a significant effect on osmotic potential or growth in the cacti. However, the watering × time interaction had a negative effect on the number of immature fruits. That is, at the end of the experiment, the plants that received the most water showed a decrease in the number of fruits. Plant growth during the rainy period was significantly greater than during the dry period. The results support the hypothesis that a change in rainfall pattern during the dry season has an effect on fruit production. Vegetative growth, however, occurred only during the wet season. |
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