Living under temporarily arid conditions - succulence as an adaptive strategy

Eggli, U.; Nyffeler, Reto

doi:10.25223/brad.n27.2009.a10

Cited by 103 publications

(54 citation statements)

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“…Highly succulent plants, with their pronounced water storage tissues, are a striking example of the synergy between form and function in adaptation to stressful environments (Eggli & Nyffeler 2009). Succulence affords plants a degree of independence from the vagaries of a limited or unpredictable water supply (Calkin & Nobel 1986; Hunt & Nobel 1987; Schulte.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying succulence: a rapid, physiologically meaningful metric of plant water storage

Ogburn

Edwards

2012

Plant Cell & Environment

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Quantification of succulence should ideally convey information about physiological function and yet also be straightforward to measure. While important aspects of succulence and its physiological consequences may be quantified using parameters derived from pressure-volume (P-V) curves, this technique applied to succulent tissues is difficult, time consuming and generally not suitable for large comparative datasets. We performed P-V curves on leaves of 25 taxa from across Caryophyllales and compared the results with direct measures of saturated water content (SWCmeas), the ratio of water mass at full saturation to tissue dry mass, for the same taxa. SWCmeas was significantly related to relative capacitance, the most physiologically relevant parameter describing tissue succulence. We developed a linear model describing SWCmeas as a function of relative capacitance and leaf volume, which is also supported when accounting for the phylogenetic relationships among taxa. These results indicate that SWCmeas is a suitable proxy for tissue succulence, and that both cellular properties and variation in gross morphology contribute towards a plant's relative water storage capacity. Quantifying SWCmeas across many taxa showing variation in tissue succulence will provide a new avenue for exploring the evolutionary dynamics of this important ecological adaptation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Smith & Nobel 1989; Von Willert et al . 1990; Eggli & Nyffeler 2009). Common features of these plants include traits that limit water loss to the environment, such as a thick cuticle (Gibson 1982; Ogburn & Edwards 2009), low stomatal density (Gibson & Nobel 1986) and crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis (Winter et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying succulence: a rapid, physiologically meaningful metric of plant water storage

Ogburn

Edwards

2012

Plant Cell & Environment

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“…Succulence is an adaptive strategy that allows plants to remain active during seasonal water shortages (Eggli & Nyffeler 2009, Ogburn & Edwards 2010. It is considered one of the most efficient adaptations for maintaining carbon gain when CAM plants are exposed to prolonged drought (Griffiths et al 2008, Herrera 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecophysiology of young stems (cladodes) of Opuntia ficus-indica in wet and dry conditions

et al. 2012

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“…increase in the number of succulent species in comparison with Eggli (2007;12,380 species) is explained by the continued uncertainties about the definition of "succulence" (see Eggli & Nyffeler, 2009) and its possible occurrence in many groups of plants not usually considered to exhibit succulence. The figure could become significantly higher once we have a better overview of succulence in families such as Piperaceae, Malvaceae s.l., Bromeliaceae, and especially Orchidaceae.…”

Section: Bradleya 28/2010mentioning

confidence: 99%