Chin J Plant Ecol ›› 2005, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (4): 530-536.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2005.0071

Special Issue: 红树林及红树植物 稳定同位素生态学

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF RHIZOPHORACEAE PLANTS GROWN IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS

HUANG Jian-Hui(), LIN Guang-Hui, HAN Xing-Guo   

  1. Laboratory for Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
  • Received:2004-02-05 Accepted:2004-11-25 Online:2005-02-05 Published:2005-07-31

Abstract:

We determined the δ13C values of leaf samples collected from plants belonging to 6 genera in the Rhizophoraceae family grown in four locations in China, including three coastal areas (Dongzhaigang of Hainan Province, Xiamen of Fujian Province, Beihai of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), and one inland area (Xishuangbanna of Yunan Province) in May and September, 2002. The nine plant species included Carallia brachiata, C. diphopetala, Pellacalyx yunnanensis, Rhizophora apiculata, R. stylosa, Bruguiera sexangula, B. gymnorhiza, Kandelia candel, and Ceriops tagal. The results indicated that leaf δ13C values, corresponding to integrated wateruse efficiency (WUE) (ratio of CO2 assimilation rate to leaf transpiration), ranged from -32‰ to -26‰, but did not vary significantly between May and September in most of those plant species. However, there were significant differences in leafδ13C values among growing environments with lower foliar δ13C values for the plants grown in the inland than those in the coastal areas on two sampling dates, indicating a higher intercellular CO2 concentration and thus a lower water use efficiency for the plants grown in the inland. In addition, among those plants living in the coastal areas, the leaves of plants grown in the Beihai had the highest δ13C values indicating the lowest intercellular CO2 concentration and thus highest WUE, which may be caused by the high salt content in the seawater or high water stress in Beihai. Our results suggest that the foliar δ13C values of the plants in the Rhizophoraceae family could be highly affected by intermittent environmental factors, although their genetic characteristics may play a significant role in determining their foliar δ13C values.

Key words: Rhizophoraceae, δ13C values, Water use efficiency