Fire and Drought: Soluble Carbohydrate Storage and Survival Mechanisms in Herbaceous Plants from the Cerrado

Structural features of species of Asteraceae that arouse discussions about adaptation to seasonally dry environments of the Neotropics

“…We also infer that P. gardneri prioritizes the development of drought resistance features due to the occurrence of storage cells interspersed, along with highly lignified parenchyma cells, in the secondary xylem of its underground system. Bud development, as seen in P. purpurascens and W. trichostephia, and their viability guarantee population persistence after seasonal disturbances, in addition to providing vegetative propagation by forming a persistent or seasonal bud bank, similar to what has been reported for several Brazilian Cerrado species (Klimešová & Klimeš 2007;Clarke et al 2013;Moraes et al 2016). Several functional traits, such as bud location and type, resprout type, resource location, and bud protection, among others described by Clarke et al (2013), deserve further investigation in plants of different vegetative strata subjected to the restrictive climatic and edaphic characteristics of the Chaco.…”

“…Considering how severe the dry seasons of the Chaco are, the presence of perennial leaves stands out as contradictory to the widely reported pattern for plant species of the Cerrado and the Mediterranean, two environments that also have dry seasons but where non-succulent plants lose their leaves during stressful events of water deficit (Fisher & Turner 1978;Moraes et al 2016). This apparent contradiction may reflect the ability of the evaluated tissues of the studied species to accumulate water.…”

“…Studies carried out over the last two decades with species in different Brazilian phytophysiognomies have shown that several species with different types of underground systems develop features related to morphogenesis, proportion of storage tissue, storage location, and chemical structure of stored compounds, which provides a variety of different data useful in the identification and differentiation of species and families, and helps to elucidate their adaptive roles in leading to successful establishment in their respective environments (Appezzato-da-Glória & Estelita 1997;Milanez & MoraesDallaqua 2003;Appezzato-da-Glória et al 2008b;Cury & Appezzato-da-Glória 2009;Appezzato-da-Glória et al 2012;Oliveira et al 2013;Bombo et al 2014;Moraes et al 2016). Such compounds, usually water-soluble carbohydrates, particularly fructans, and secondary metabolites, provide protection against desiccation and extreme temperatures, in addition to being an extremely useful energy source for underground systems bearing buds leading to resprouting and vegetative propagation (Klimešová & Klimeš 2007;Joaquim et al 2014;Moraes et al 2016).…”

“…Such compounds, usually water-soluble carbohydrates, particularly fructans, and secondary metabolites, provide protection against desiccation and extreme temperatures, in addition to being an extremely useful energy source for underground systems bearing buds leading to resprouting and vegetative propagation (Klimešová & Klimeš 2007;Joaquim et al 2014;Moraes et al 2016).…”

“…The loss of leaves during the dry season with resprouting in the rainy season, combined with the development of underground storage systems with buds, are two important strategies that have evolved in several herbaceous species of the Cerrado (Moraes et al 2016), and which are also possessed by some Chaquenian species. Such characteristics can be similar or vary among taxa.…”