Why are annual plants rarely spring ephemerals?

Abstract

The period of active growth for spring ephemeral plants coincides with the period of high light, water and nutrient availability between snow melt and canopy closure in the understorey of deciduous forests in eastern North America. However, low temperatures prevail during this period and might restrict the performance of these plants. Remarkably, this peculiar phenology is extremely rare among annual plants. To understand better the role of light and water availability and of temperature in the phenology of spring ephemeral plants, we investigated the effects of two temperature regimes (low: 16/7 °C and high: 21/14 °C), three water availability levels (saturated, control and drought), and three photosynthetically active photon flux densities: low (85–100 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹); intermediate (182–196 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹); high (437–454 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹) on the growth and reproduction of the annual Floerkea proserpinacoides. Total biomass, total leaf area and flower and seed production increased with increasing temperature, water availability and light intensity. Total leaf area and total biomass were reduced in plants that were stressed under drought. However, at high temperatures, this reduction was less pronounced when droughted plants were partially shaded. At low temperatures, plants began to senesce after approximately 9 wk, whereas at higher temperatures, signs of senescence appeared after only 7 wk of growth. Despite shorter longevity, total biomass was approximately 1.5 times higher in the control water treatment at higher than at lower temperatures as a result of greater above-ground growth, and plants allocated a significantly greater proportion of mass gain to seed production. Although F. proserpinacoides can tolerate low temperatures such as those typical of early spring, higher temperatures such as those of late spring/early summer are more favorable for growth and reproduction as long as water and light are not limiting. Spring ephemeral annuals might be rare because low temperatures reduce growth rate and extend the life cycle. An annual plant might not have time to reproduce before resource availability deteriorates with canopy closure unless reproduction begins early in the life cycle of the species.