The Effect of Temperature on the Phenotypic Plasticity of the Invasive Perennial Weed Ambrosia confertiflora

The invasive perennial weed Ambrosia confertiflora (Burr ragweed) is widespread across various climatic regions in Israel and neighboring countries. This study examines how temperature affects the development of the plants’ aboveground and underground organs, as well as biomass allocation. We hypothesize that temperature influences how the plant distributes resources, thereby modifying its phenotypic morphology and contributing to its spread. Plants were grown in a phytotron under four seasonal temperature regimes (10–16 °C, 16–22 °C, 22–28 °C, 28–34 °C, N-D, 14 h light). We measured above- and belowground biomass, growth form, leaf size, and the interaction between temperature and apical dominance. Our results show that biomass allocation varies with temperature and developmental stage. During early growth, resources are primarily directed toward shoot development and leaf production. As plants matured, they shifted more resources to underground structures, eventually balancing allocation. At lower temperatures, plants invested more in underground growth while the shoot remained in the rosette form. In contrast, higher temperatures favored aboveground growth. Ambrosia confertiflora demonstrates significant phenotypic plasticity in response to temperature variation, affecting plant height, leaf morphology, and resource allocation in both shoot and underground tissues. Understanding how temperature drives these changes is critical to understanding the spread and ecological impact of this highly adaptable weed.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Plants

• Publication date

  2026-01-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/plants15020214PMID 41600021PMCID 12844921
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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