Plant evolution on rock outcrops and cliffs: contrasting patterns of diversification following edaphic specialization

TL;DR

This paper reviews how plants adapt and diversify on bare rock surfaces like cliffs, highlighting evolutionary patterns, adaptations, and conservation challenges in these extreme habitats.

Contribution

It synthesizes recent research on plant specialization to rocky environments, emphasizing evolutionary processes, adaptations, and conservation implications.

Findings

Rock specialists often form isolated lineages or diverse clades.

Specialization on bare rock can be an evolutionary dead end or lead to diversification.

Cliffs serve as refuges for stress-tolerant endangered plants.

Abstract

Sheer cliffs on mountains and in deep canyons are among the worlds most iconic landmarks but our understanding of the enigmatic flora that lives in these vertical rock landscapes remains fragmented. In this article, I review and synthesize recent studies on the evolution of specialization onto bare rock and its consequences for plant diversification. Putative adaptations commonly associated with growth on bare rock include specialized root structures, stress tolerant leaf traits, and reduced dispersibility. Fitness tradeoffs are a principal explanation for edaphic specialization, but adaptation to bare environments stands apart as a precursor environment to specialization in other stressful habitats, such as chemically harsh soils. In species level phylogenies, many rock specialist plants are evolutionarily isolated and form the sister lineage to congeners found on decomposed substrates, suggesting that specialization onto bare rock may be an evolutionary trap or dead end. In other cases, rock specialists form diverse clades, suggesting archipelago speciation or ecological release enabled by innovations in stress tolerance. Today, in environments severely impacted by poor management and introduced organisms, such as islands, cliffs serve as important refuges for stress tolerant endangered plants. New technology for climbing safety and drone assisted reconnaissance open new possibilities for the discovery and conservation of cliff plants in these landscapes but come with the inherent risks of increasing their accessibility. The future success of efforts to save plants from extinction may depend on our understanding of the unique and resilient flora endemic to cliffy places.