Z2024 - Nutrient Resorption in Iva Frutescens: Timing and Impacts

Presenter

Julia Huzi; Briana Cipolla; Brianna Almeida

Document Type

Digital Slide Show Presentation

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Nutrient resorption, a nutrient conservation mechanism used by many deciduous plants, was investigated in Iva frutescens, a woody salt marsh perennial. This research study, having both laboratory and field components, had two main goals. The first and ongoing goal of this study is to characterize nutrient resorption in the model organism and to investigate a potential link between nutrient resorption and fitness. To this end, during the fall of 2023, seed biomass and growth measurements were collected from ten replicate Iva frutescens plants growing at one of four salt marsh habitats along the coast of Narragansett Bay, RI. These data were added to existing data collected in previous growing seasons. Seed material was dried to a constant mass, manually sorted to purify seed samples, and weighed. These data were analyzed to better explain the relationship between this nutrient conservation method and plant fitness. The second goal of this study was to understand the timing of foliar nutrient movement. Foliar material was collected weekly from five plants, each at one of above-mentioned salt marsh habitats, from mid-October through November of 2023. Foliar material was dried to constant mass and analyzed for percent nitrogen and phosphorus. Foliar nutrient data were analyzed to better understand the timing of nutrient movement out of annual foliar tissue in Iva frutescens.

Faculty Mentor

Ryan Tainsh, Ed.D.

Academic Discipline

College of Arts & Sciences

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