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Related Concept Videos

Competition

Competition

When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.

Responses to Drought and Flooding

Responses to Drought and Flooding

Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.

Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores

Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores

Plants present a rich source of nutrients for many organisms, making it a target for herbivores and infectious agents. Plants, though lacking a proper immune system, have developed an array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fend off these attacks.

Short-distance Transport of Resources

Short-distance Transport of Resources

Short-distance transport refers to transport that occurs over a distance of just 2-3 cells, crossing the plasma membrane in the process. Small uncharged molecules, such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water, can diffuse across the plasma membrane on their own. In contrast, ions and larger molecules require the assistance of transport proteins due to their charge or size. Transport across membranes also occurs within individual cells, playing a variety of essential roles for the plant as a whole.

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.

Cell Signaling in Plants

Cell Signaling in Plants

Plant cells communicate to coordinate their cycle of growth, flowering and fruiting, and activities in roots, shoots, and leaves in response to the changing environmental conditions. Plant signaling is distinct from animal signaling. Plants primarily utilize enzyme-linked receptors, whereas the largest class of cell-surface receptors in animals are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Unlike animals, receptor tyrosine kinases are rare in plants. Instead, plants have a diverse class of...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth

Published on: July 1, 2019

Decision-making in plants under competition.

Michal Gruntman¹, Dorothee Groß², Maria Májeková^2,3,4

¹Plant Ecology Group, Institute of Evolution and Ecology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 5, 72076, Tübingen, Germany. michal.gruntman@bot.uni-tuebingen.de.

Nature Communications

|December 23, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Plants plastically adjust growth strategies like vertical growth, shade tolerance, or lateral spread to optimize responses to light competition. This study shows Potentilla reptans selects strategies based on neighbor height and density for competitive advantage.

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Area of Science:

Plant Ecology
Plant Physiology
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Plants exhibit plastic responses to light competition, including vertical growth, shade tolerance, and lateral growth.
These strategies allow plants to manage competitive interactions and optimize resource acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the hypothesis that plants can strategically 'choose' among plastic growth responses based on their competitive abilities.
To investigate how Potentilla reptans adjusts its growth strategies in response to varying light competition scenarios.

Main Methods:

Experimental simulation of neighbor height and density to create different light competition scenarios.
Measurement of vertical growth, specific leaf area, and stolon length in Potentilla reptans ramets.

Main Results:

Potentilla reptans displayed increased vertical growth under short-dense neighbors.
Plants showed higher specific leaf area (leaf area/dry mass) when exposed to tall-dense neighbors.
Total stolon length increased under tall-sparse neighbor conditions.

Conclusions:

Potentilla reptans shifts between 'confrontational' vertical growth, shade tolerance, and lateral avoidance strategies.
Evidence suggests plants adopt optimal plastic responses tailored to specific light competition environments.