Perennial plants that normally experience dormancy during winter may be subjected to more cycles of freeze鄄thaw caused by warming winter. We explored the physiological mechanisms of adaptation of white clover, Trifolium repens Linn, to freeze鄄thaw stress. In late fall of 2009, uniform plots of white clover grown in a natural environment (NE) were covered with a plastic house (pH) to simulate the effect of a warmer winter or left uncovered (control). During the winter and following spring, growth capacity and physiological indices related to resistance to adverse environment were measured in leaves of white clover grown in both conditions. In the winter of 2009, the average temperature ranged from below zero (-10益) to 7益 in the NE during which leaves experienced thawing鄄freezing鄄thawing鄄freezing, and above zero (from 1 益 to 7 益) in the pH where leaves were never frozen. In late fall of 2009, all white clover was of uniform height. But in spring 2010, plants grown in the PH (26 cm) were 3 times taller than those in the NE (8 cm). This difference in height disappeared by June 2010. In winter, the relative membrane permeability, MDA(malondialdehyde) , proline, and soluble
Messerschmidia sibirica Linn, Siberian sea rosemary, may be useful in the restoration and protection of sand dunes. We explored its ability to withstand varying levels of sand burial in the Yan Tai coastal dune in the spring and summer of 2009 and 2010. Four levels of sand burial treatments were set up: no鄄sand burial (control) , light sand burial (1 / 3 of plant height) , moderate sand burial (2 / 3 of plant height) and severe sand burial (plant fully covered by sand). Changes in soil temperature, soil moisture, fresh weight (FW) , dry weight (DW) , relative plant height, plasma membrane permeability, MDA content, osmotic regulation, and activity of antioxidant enzymes in the leaves of plants in different levels of sand burial were investigated to elucidate the strategies used to maintain physiological and biochemical processes during growth in the different environments. Soil temperatures below sand decreased while soil water content increased with increasing levels of sand burial. Plants in light and moderate sand burials were taller than controls. In
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