Department of Life Sciences Bhakta Kavi Narsinh Mehta University Junagadh, India
Abstract: Parasitic plants have great potential for shaping the plant population ecology. By changing the competitive balance between hosts and non-host species and by adjusting the quantity and quality of resources entering the soil, these plants can alter the structure, composition, and productivity of plant communities. Notwithstanding the advancements made in the field of plant parasite research, integrative studies demonstrating the structuring ability of parasitic plants are still lacking in forest ecosystems, where their effects may be harder to notice due to the extended system lifespan. In this work, we assess the long-term effects of Viscum articulatum and Depdrophtoe falcata on a dry deciduous forests' woody plant community. This mistletoe stays on the same host for several years, having long-lasting, confined effects on community and ecological traits. Mistletoe concentrates zoochorous seeds and causes changes in the soil's fertility and the amount of light available beneath the canopy of parasitized trees, which may make it easier for zoochorous plants to colonize the area and recruit new members while also weakening the host. Here, we examine the biological activity of parasite plants and their host plants, as well as their secondary metabolites and ionic compositions. We have selected non-parasitic plant and parasitized Wrighatia tinctorial and Tectona grandis, wherein we investigated the interaction between changes in soil nutrient and light availability caused by mistletoe and factors such as seed rain, seed predation, seedling establishment, plant recruitment, and plant growth. Under parasitized trees, there were more resources for light and soil nutrients. Under parasitized trees, where seedling recruitment appeared to be most likely, the seed rain was greatest. When parasitism evolved, sapling density, richness, and growth increased.
