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在亚马逊河西段流域——可称为全球生物多样性最丰富的地区——科学家发现不仅森林树种极其丰富，其中蕴含的化学成分种类也很齐全。研究人员爬上该流域—亚马逊河下游宽广地带到上游安第斯山温带雨林—19片森林的数千棵树的顶端，从树冠中的树叶中取出化学物质作为样品进行分析，他们对发现的化学成分种类之多感到惊讶。
卡内基科学研究院研究员、该项研究第一作者格雷格·阿斯纳称：“我们发现这个令人不可思议的地区是蕴含多样化学特征树种的集结地，这些化学特征依据生物体生存必须的两大地质因素—土壤和海拔，集结在同一片区域，以最大限度发挥生长潜能。在这片区域，不同的树种形成了成分各异的化学成份库，以帮助每个树种丛林中生存。我们称此为生态位。”
树木利用多种化学成分吸收阳光、进行光合作用、储存碳元素、生长叶子，甚至进行自我保护。该项发表在美国国家科学院的院刊上的研究表明，冠状树生长需要的化学成分组合取决于海拔、气候和土壤状况。
科学人员在文章中表示：“树叶中蕴含化学成分的多样性表明了植物在既定环境中通过生长和延长生命，进化到能用多种策略最大限度地适应环境。”
In the Western Amazon—arguably the world's most biodiverse region—scientists have found that not only is the forest super-rich in species, but also in chemicals. Climbing into the canopy of thousands of trees across 19 different forests in the region—from the lowland Amazon to high Andean cloud forests—the researchers sampled chemical signatures from canopy leaves and were surprised by the levels of diversity uncovered.
"We discovered that this incredible region is a patchwork mosaic of trees with chemical signatures organized into communities to maximize their growth potential given their local soils and elevation—two geological factors they must negotiate as living organisms," said lead author Greg Asner with the Carnegie Institution for Science. "Within these communities, the trees have evolved chemical portfolios that are different from one another, maybe to help each species take a place in its community—what we call a niche."
Trees use a wide swathe of chemicals to capture light, synthesize and store carbon, develop foliage, and even defend themselves. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that the suite of chemicals used by canopy trees often depended on elevation, climate, and soil.
"Variation in this leaf chemical portfolio expresses multiple strategies evolved in plants to maximize fitness through growth and longevity in any given environment," the scientists write.
(Source: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/47120)
卡内基科学研究院研究员、该项研究第一作者格雷格·阿斯纳称：“我们发现这个令人不可思议的地区是蕴含多样化学特征树种的集结地，这些化学特征依据生物体生存必须的两大地质因素—土壤和海拔，集结在同一片区域，以最大限度发挥生长潜能。在这片区域，不同的树种形成了成分各异的化学成份库，以帮助每个树种丛林中生存。我们称此为生态位。”
树木利用多种化学成分吸收阳光、进行光合作用、储存碳元素、生长叶子，甚至进行自我保护。该项发表在美国国家科学院的院刊上的研究表明，冠状树生长需要的化学成分组合取决于海拔、气候和土壤状况。
科学人员在文章中表示：“树叶中蕴含化学成分的多样性表明了植物在既定环境中通过生长和延长生命，进化到能用多种策略最大限度地适应环境。”
In the Western Amazon—arguably the world's most biodiverse region—scientists have found that not only is the forest super-rich in species, but also in chemicals. Climbing into the canopy of thousands of trees across 19 different forests in the region—from the lowland Amazon to high Andean cloud forests—the researchers sampled chemical signatures from canopy leaves and were surprised by the levels of diversity uncovered.
"We discovered that this incredible region is a patchwork mosaic of trees with chemical signatures organized into communities to maximize their growth potential given their local soils and elevation—two geological factors they must negotiate as living organisms," said lead author Greg Asner with the Carnegie Institution for Science. "Within these communities, the trees have evolved chemical portfolios that are different from one another, maybe to help each species take a place in its community—what we call a niche."
Trees use a wide swathe of chemicals to capture light, synthesize and store carbon, develop foliage, and even defend themselves. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that the suite of chemicals used by canopy trees often depended on elevation, climate, and soil.
"Variation in this leaf chemical portfolio expresses multiple strategies evolved in plants to maximize fitness through growth and longevity in any given environment," the scientists write.
(Source: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/47120)