Effect of Provenance and Climate on Xylem Anatomy of Haloxylon Ammodendron (C. A. Mey) Bunge in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

Abstract

Abstract. Although Haloxylon ammodendron is widely distributed in desert regions of both Asia and Africa, the anatomical structure of its xylem is rarely reported. In this study, the differences in xylem anatomical characteristics among five provenances in the southern Gurbantunggut Desert were compared and the effects of climatic factors on anatomical features were analyzed. The results showed that the xylem responded to low precipitation by increasing ray density and ray height to improve the storage of water and starch to combat drought stress. In an arid provenance (Jinghe), H. ammodendron had wide vessels to improve conductivity. Moreover, they increased the vessel wall thickness to decrease its sensitivity to embolism. Both average temperature in January and maximum wind velocity from April to June were significantly related to the wall thickness of the fiber (P ＜ 0.05), indicating that a thicker fiber cell wall could provide higher mechanical resistance to steady stems and improve vessel conduction in low temperature and strong wind conditions. These results indicate that there is high plasticity in the xylem anatomical structures of H. ammodendron in response to different desert conditions and also explain the adaptation of the plant to a wide range of Asian and African deserts.

Comparative proteomic analysis of thick-walled ray formation of Haloxylon ammodendron in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

“…Haloxylon ammodendron is an important afforestation species in the arid desert region both in Asia and Africa. Previous studies have found that the cell wall of ray cells was obviously thickened in the xylem of H. ammodendron, and the wall thickness of the ray cell can be up to 2.85 µm ~ 3.08 µm, which is 3 ~ 6 times the thickness of axial parenchyma and is slightly higher than that of bre (2.64 µm ~ 2.97 µm) (Zhou and Gong 2017). Generally, ray tissue is composed of parenchyma cells, and the wall thickness of ray cells is much thinner than that of bre cells in most species (Plavcová and Jansen 2015).…”

“…The climate and growth characteristics of H. ammodendron plantation in the sample area were described by Zhou and Gong (2017). At the end of June 2017, samples were taken in Jinghe (82°53′35″E,44°36′10″N) and Shihezi (86°14′44″E 45°00′34″N) Desert Research and Experimental Station, Shihezi University, in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang, China.…”

“…Observations under a light microscope and measurements of the wall thickness of ray cells in H. ammodendron were performed as described in Zhou and Gong (2017).…”

Transcriptome analysis for Fraxinus mandshurica seedlings from different carbon fixation and growth provenances in response to nitrogen deficiency

“…In the past, studies on the differences in provenances of forest trees were mainly focused on the growth traits (tree height, DBH) [ 6,7], physiological and biochemical traits [ 8], fitting growth model [ 9,10] and identification of molecular markers related to provenance [ 11]. However, there were few reports on the differences in RNA-Seq between provenances.…”

Introductory Chapter: Global Aspects and Scientific Importance of Desert Ecological Research

“…If ecologists or environmental scientists are talking about desert ecological research, then almost everyone is thinking about specific desert flora [1][2][3][4][5], fauna [6,7], or desertification itself as a consequence of climate change [8,9], or sand dunes-triggered disasters [10]. In fact, the importance of ecological research in deserts is far more general and wider.…”