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Updated: Mar 28, 2026

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions

Published on: March 9, 2021

Phenotypic plasticity evolved for climate variability constrains performance under climate warming.

Alayna Mead¹, Michelle Zavala-Paez¹, Joie R Beasley-Bennett²

¹Pennsylvania State University.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology

|March 27, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Phenotypic plasticity allows plants to adapt to changing climates. However, increased plasticity in trees like Populus can be detrimental in warmer environments, suggesting it may not always be adaptive.

Keywords:

climate variability ecophysiology forest trees genotype x environment hybrid zone phenology phenotypic plasticity provenance trial stomata

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Area of Science:

Plant biology
Evolutionary ecology
Climate change adaptation

Background:

Phenotypic plasticity enables plants to adjust to environmental changes without genetic alteration.
Natural populations exhibit variation in plasticity, but its adaptive value is context-dependent.
Understanding plasticity's fitness consequences across diverse environments is crucial for predicting plant responses to climate change.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how phenotypic plasticity and associated traits vary in hybrid genotypes of Populus trees from contrasting climatic niches.
To determine the fitness consequences of trait plasticity across multiple common garden environments.
To assess the adaptive potential of plasticity under varying temperature regimes.

Main Methods:

Clonally replicated genotypes from a Populus hybrid zone were planted in thirteen common gardens.
Measurements included vegetative phenology, leaf and stomatal morphology, stomatal conductance, and photochemistry.
Fitness was estimated by yearly growth, and plasticity-fitness relationships were analyzed across gardens.

Main Results:

Genotypes from colder, continental environments showed higher overall plasticity.
Populus balsamifera ancestry correlated with increased plasticity in fall phenology, stomatal conductance, and leaf mass.
Plasticity-fitness relationships were environment-specific; higher plasticity often yielded neutral or negative growth effects in warmer gardens.

Conclusions:

Elevated plasticity in Populus balsamifera likely evolved for seasonal variability but presents a trade-off with growth in warmer conditions.
Less-plastic, warm-adapted Populus trichocarpa genotypes may gain a fitness advantage in warming climates.
Phenotypic plasticity is not universally beneficial and can be maladaptive in changing environments.