Ecology
Like other banksias, B. petiolaris plays host to a variety of pollinators – insects such as bees, wasps and ants were all recorded in the 1988 The Banksia Atlas survey.
An assessment of the potential impact of climate change on this species found that its range is likely to contract by between 30% and 80% by 2080, depending on the severity of the change.
Banksia petiolaris has the longest-lived angiosperm leaves so far recorded – a study published in 1992 recorded a lifespan of up to 13 years for a single leaf, while leaves of 10 years of age ably maintained their ability to photosynthesize compared with young leaves. The authors concluded that leaf longevity is advantageous in plants in nutrient poor soils, as the loss of valuable nutrients in leaf loss is minimised (the leaves store much of a plants' nutrients).
Read more about this topic: Banksia Petiolaris
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“... the fundamental principles of ecology govern our lives wherever we live, and ... we must wake up to this fact or be lost.”
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