Lea Klepka (Philipps-Universität Marburg)
Study design. Graph: Klepka
Lea Klepka's Master thesis was awarded with the Prize for the Best Plant Science Master Thesis, which was carried out at Philipps-Universität Marburg in the year 2022
Title: Rapid adaptation of the plant species Galium wirtgenii to novel conditions in restored meadows
Early mowing of restored meadows leads to an advancement of flowering onset and lower early growth in Bedstraw within only a few years.
The success of ecosystem restoration might significantly depend on whether restored populations are able to adapt fast enough to novel conditions. However, underlying mechanisms and drivers of evolutionary change in response to land management practices remain to be uncovered. In this Master's thesis, rapid adaptation to early mowing in restored alluvial grassland meadows was investigated. For the restoration 20 years ago, hay transfer was applied. Therefore, plant material including seeds obtained by mowing remnant alluvial meadows was transferred to meadows that had to be restored. Offspring of the plant species Galium wirtgenii from both hay donor and recipient areas were grown in a common garden and mowing was simulated during the flowering period. Plants from restored meadows flowered earlier and grew less in early live stages in response to the early mowing. Regarding the regeneration capacity after the removal of the aboveground biomass during flowering, there were no differences between the plants of restored and ancient meadows. These results suggest that early flowering and low biomass in early growth stages are part of the adaptation strategy of G. wirtgenii, whereas an enhanced regeneration after mowing is not.
The Master's thesis shows that mowing early in the year acts as a strong selective agent on flowering phenology and early plant growth, which must be taken into consideration when managing restored habitats.
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Lea Klepka conducted this work at the Department of Biology in the working group of Prof. Lampei Bucharova.