Age-Dependent Eco-Physiological Adaptation and Phenotypic Plasticity of Shade-Tolerant Plants Under Dynamic Light and Temperature Environments

Shade-tolerant plants are pivotal components of forest ecosystems and play critical roles in community structure, productivity, and biodiversity maintenance. With the intensification of global climate change, understory habitats are increasingly exposed to irregular light–temperature combinations, challenging plant survival and function. Previous studies have largely focused on low-light adaptation during single developmental stages, providing valuable but temporally limited insights. However, accumulating evidence shows that shade-tolerant species, particularly perennial taxa, undergo profound structural, metabolic, and molecular reorganizations as they mature. Age-related variation in traits such as leaf morphology, canopy architecture, nutrient allocation, and photosynthetic efficiency suggests that eco-physiological responses evolve continuously throughout a plant’s life history. Despite advances in understanding light and temperature effects separately, the integrated, age-dependent adaptation mechanisms of perennial understory species remain insufficiently explored.This Research Topic aims to elucidate how shade-tolerant plants adjust to dynamic light and temperature environments across different growth stages. It seeks to uncover the mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity and eco-physiological regulation that underlie long-term acclimation in perennial understory species. By linking age-related structural and biochemical changes with photosynthetic, enzymatic, and gene expression dynamics, this Research Topic intends to clarify how developmental progression moderates environmental resilience. It also seeks to identify molecular and metabolic indicators of stress tolerance that can inform the sustainable cultivation of medicinal and ecological plant species. A central goal is to integrate multiscale perspectives—from organ-level morphology to systems biology—to refine predictive models of plant response to climate variability.This Research Topic encompasses multi-disciplinary studies across physiology, ecology, molecular biology, and modeling that investigate light–temperature interactions and developmental adaptation in perennial shade-tolerant species. We welcome contributions that explore both natural populations and cultivated systems, applying physiological assays, biochemical methods, and multi-omics tools.To gather further insights into these mechanisms, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Morphological plasticity and structural remodeling across growth years under contrasting light–temperature environments• Age-related changes in photosynthetic performance, photoprotection, and resource optimization• Source–sink dynamics and nutrient allocation, particularly carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus fluxes• Molecular regulation and stage-specific expression of stress-response genes and key enzymes• Secondary metabolism and biosynthesis of active compounds across developmental stages• Systems biology and multi-omics integration to reveal regulatory networks of shade adaptation• Plant–microbe interactions that modulate environmental resilience over time• Applications in canopy management, understory cultivation, and germplasm conservation of perennial medicinal plantsWe welcome the following article types: Original Research, Review, Mini Review, Perspective, and Methodology papers. Topic editors: Tao Zhou, Binjie Xu, Li Yan Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/82905/age-dependent-eco-physiological-adaptation-and-phenotypic-plasticity-of-shade-tolerant-plants-under-dynamic-light-and-temperature-environments