Growth and nickel uptake by serpentine and non-serpentine populations of Fimbristylis ovata (Cyperaceae) from Sri Lanka
P. K. D. Chathuranga A B , S. K. A. T. Dharmasena A , N. Rajakaruna C D and M. C. M. Iqbal A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Institute of Fundamental Studies, Hanthana Road, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
B Postgraduate Institute of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
C College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA.
D Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
E Corresponding author. Email: mcmif2003@yahoo.com
Australian Journal of Botany 63(2) 128-133 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT14232
Submitted: 8 September 2014 Accepted: 28 December 2014 Published: 7 April 2015
Abstract
Compared with serpentine floras of Southeast Asia, the serpentine vegetation of Sri Lanka is impoverished in regard to serpentine endemics and nickel hyperaccumulators. All species so far documented from the serpentine outcrops of Sri Lanka also have non-serpentine populations; it is unclear whether the serpentine populations are physiologically distinct and deserve ecotypic recognition. We conducted a preliminary study to examine whether serpentine and non-serpentine populations of Fimbristylis ovata represent locally adapted ecotypes by investigating their growth and potential for nickel uptake and tolerance under greenhouse conditions. Although both populations of F. ovata showed a similar growth pattern in serpentine soil during short-term exposure (21 days), the non-serpentine population was unable to survive in serpentine soil under long-term exposure (4 months). Both populations were able to uptake nickel from serpentine soil during short-term exposure (21 days). The serpentine population, however, translocated significantly more nickel from its roots to shoots (translocation factor 0.43) than the non-serpentine population (translocation factor 0.29). Our preliminary investigations suggest that the serpentine and non-serpentine populations of F. ovata may be locally adapted to their respective soils. However, additional studies are required to determine whether the populations deserve ecotypic recognition.
Additional keywords: ecotypic differentiation, edaphic tolerance, geobotany, ion uptake, nickel tolerance, population differentiation, restoration ecology, serpentine ecology.
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