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Limited impact of irrigation on the phenology of Brachychiton megaphyllus: a deciduous shrub that flowers while leafless during the tropical dry season

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2015

Patricia J. Bate  and
Donald C. Franklin
Patricia J. Bate*
Affiliation:
Northern Territory Medical Program, FlindersNT, c/- Charles Darwin University, Darwin NT 0909, Australia
Donald C. Franklin
Affiliation:
Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin NT 0909, Australia
*
1Corresponding author. Email: trish.bate@flinders.edu.au
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Abstract:

A suite of woody plants inhabiting the seasonally dry tropics flower while leafless during the dry season, raising intriguing questions about the role of moisture limitation in shaping their phenology. Brachychiton megaphyllus is one such species, a shrub of open forests and savannas in northern Australia. We documented leaf and reproductive phenology of 14 shrubs, and irrigated a further 15, to determine if soil moisture affected leafiness and reproductive activity. Brachychiton megaphyllus showed first flower buds shortly after the cessation of wet-season rains, and budded and flowered throughout the dry season. In some plants, leaf flush occurred prior to the first rains. Rates of fruit set and maturity were very low. Irrigation did not significantly influence leaf shoot or subsequent canopy development. Contrary to expectation, irrigation decreased the production of buds and flowers though it had no impact on the production of fruit, a response for which we suggest a number of hypotheses. Phenological responses to irrigation may have been limited because B. megaphyllus responds primarily to cues other than soil moisture and is buffered against seasonal drought by a large tap root. This suggests mechanisms by which flowering while leafless may occur in a range of species.

Keywords

deciduousnessdry-season floweringmonsoonal tropicsplantssoil moisturewet-dry tropics
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 31 , Issue 5 , September 2015 , pp. 459 - 467
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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