Drought resilience of conifer species is driven by leaf lifespan but not by hydraulic traits

As an interesting and important trait of some drought-tolerant species, heteromorphic leaves are distributed differentially along plant vertical heights. However, the underpinning mechanism for the formation of heteromorphic leaves remains unclear. We hypothesize that heteromorphic leaves are caused by the hydraulic constraints possibly due to the compensation of the changes in functional traits in response to water transport capacity or the reduction of ineffective water loss. In this study, differences in water transport capacity, morphological traits, anatomical structures, and cellular water relations among three typical types of heteromorphic leaves (i.e., lanceolate, ovate, and broad-ovate) of Populus euphratica Oliv. (a dominant species of desert riparian forest in Central and West Asia) and their relationships were analyzed in order to explore the forming mechanism of heteromorphic leaves. The results showed that the lanceolate, ovate, and broad-ovate leaves were growing in the lower, intermediate, and higher positions from the ground, respectively. Morphological traits, anatomical structures, cellular water relations, and water transport capacity significantly varied among the three types of heteromorphic leaves (P< 0.01). Drought stress in broad-ovate leaves was significantly higher than that in ovate and lanceolate leaves (P< 0.01). Water transport capacity has significant correlations with morphological traits, anatomical structures, and cellular water relations (R2 ≥ 0.30; P< 0.01). Our results indicated that heteromorphic leaves were used as an important adaptive strategy for P. euphratica to alleviate the increase of hydraulic constraints along vertical heights.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…These two aspects all significantly correlated with leaf morphology, cellular water relations, and anatomical structures. This was similar to the research results of Song et al (2022) and Yang et al (2022a). The actual water transport capacity of plants was determined by both environmental stress and maximum water transport potential.…”

supporting

confidence: 93%

Hydraulic constraints determine the distribution of heteromorphic leaves along plant vertical height

Yang

Anwar²,

Xu³

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We found for our 20 study species, that species that originated from bright climates (i.e. high solar radiation and potential evapotranspiration) had a higher drought resilience, probably because they follow an acquisitive strategy, where a short leaf life span, high stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate allows them to grow fast and recover quickly after drought (Song et al, 2022). We expected that climatic origin related to measures of aridity might explain species differences in drought resilience, such as mean annual precipitation (MAP) or temperature (MAT).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…This is probably because all species came from relatively cold and humid conditions (MAT ranged from 8.5 to 18.8°C, MAP ranged from 1,053 to 2,913 mm across species). See Song et al (2022) for a further discussion on the role of climatic origin on species performance.…”

Section: Hydraulic Traits Cannot Explain Resilience Differences Acros...mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Growth resilience of conifer species decreases with early, long‐lasting and intense droughts but cannot be explained by hydraulic traits

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Drought events may reduce growth and survival of conifer trees. The effects of the intensity and timing of drought on the growth resilience, including growth reductions during drought and recovery of growth after drought, remain, however, highly uncertain.2. Growth resilience of 20 conifer species to 11 dry years was compared in a common garden experiment. We assessed (a) the relationships among growth resistance, recovery and resilience, (b) the impacts of different drought dimensions (intensity, onset and length) on resistance and (c) the underlying mechanisms in terms of growth potential and hydraulic traits.3. Droughts led to 22% reduction in stem growth for 85% of species, but most species (85%) were resilient due to high recovery. Growth resistance decreased with an early onset of drought (significant for 55% of species), and longer-lasting (35%) and intense droughts (60%). While fast-growing species and slow-growing species were similar in resistance and recovery, fast-growing species were more resilient. Unexpectedly, resilience could not be explained by hydraulic traits, possibly because the species grew on poor sandy soils and were acclimated to drought with large hydraulic safety margins. Synthesis.Our study shows that in a mild maritime climate almost all conifer species are resilient to drought, and that putative hydraulic traits may be less important here for growth resilience. It also highlights the importance of addressing multiple dimensions of drought, that is, timing, duration and severity, to predict species responses to climate change.

show abstract

Effects of drought and moisture stress on the growth and ecophysiological traits of Schima superba seedlings

Hussain,

Wang,

Riaz

et al. 2024

Photosynth Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drought resilience of conifer species is driven by leaf lifespan but not by hydraulic traits

Cited by 28 publications

References 75 publications

Hydraulic constraints determine the distribution of heteromorphic leaves along plant vertical height

Hydraulic constraints determine the distribution of heteromorphic leaves along plant vertical height

Growth resilience of conifer species decreases with early, long‐lasting and intense droughts but cannot be explained by hydraulic traits

Effects of drought and moisture stress on the growth and ecophysiological traits of Schima superba seedlings

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About