Hydraulic vulnerability segmentation in woody plant species from tropical and subtropical karst forests

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2022.0262

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Vulnerability segmentation is one of physiological mechanisms underlying drought resistance for tree species. The aim of this study is to clarify the patterns of vulnerability segmentation and its physiological significance for woody species from drought-prone tropical and subtropical karst forests.

Methods A total of 57 typical woody species were selected from tropical and subtropical karst forests. We measured their leaf and stem vulnerability curves and minimum water potential to calculate vulnerability segmentation (P50_leaf-stemis the difference in cavitation resistance between leaf and stem, with larger values indicating stronger vulnerability segmentation) and hydraulic safety margin. We compared the differences in P50_leaf-stem between different plant taxa and explored the relationships between P50_leaf-stem and hydraulic safety margin.

Important findings (1) The P50_leaf-stem across the woody species ranged from -1.28 MPa to 4.63 MPa, with an average value of 1.32 MPa. Out of the 57 species, 49 species showed a positive P50_leaf-stem. (2) Shrub species showed higher P50_leaf-stem than tree species, and species from karst ridge showed higher P50_leaf-stem than those from karst valley. However, there was no significant difference in P50_leaf-stem between evergreen and deciduous species. (3) During the drought period, species with higher P50_leaf-stem tended to have smaller leaf hydraulic safety margin but larger stem hydraulic safety margin, indicating that occurrence of cavitation in leaves can reduce hydraulic risks of stems. This study confirms that vulnerability segmentation is an important hydraulic strategy for most tropical and subtropical karst woody species to deal with drought stress.

Key words: cavitation, drought adaptation, hydraulic safety margin, minimum water potential, plant taxa

YU Jun-Rui, WAN Chun-Yan, ZHU Shi-Dan. Hydraulic vulnerability segmentation in woody plant species from tropical and subtropical karst forests[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(11): 1576-1584.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2022.0262

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2023/V47/I11/1576

Figures/Tables 3

Fig. 1 Conceptual model of karst mountains landform and distribution of woody plant species. Vulnerability curves of leaves (blue) and stems (red) for trees with positive (A) and negative (B) vulnerability segmentation. The blue and red vertical dashed lines indicate water potential at 50% loss of hydraulic efficiency in leaves (P50leaf) and stems (P50stem), respectively, which qualifies their cavitation resistance. The vulnerability segmentation (P50leaf-stem) is calculated as the difference in cavitation resistance between leaves and stems. Ψ, water potential; PLC, percentage loss of conductivity.

Fig. 2 Vulnerability segmentation (P50leaf-stem) (A) of the 57 woody plant species from tropical and subtropical karst forests, and difference of P50leaf-stem between different plant taxa (B-D). *, p < 0.05; ns, p > 0.05.

Fig. 3 Correlations of vulnerability segmentation (P50leaf-stem) with leaf hydraulic safety margin (HSMleaf) (A), stem hydraulic safety margin (HSMstem) (B), and minimum water potential (Ψmin) (C) across woody plant species from tropical and subtropical karst forests (n = 41). ***, p < 0.001. ○, valley tree species; △, valley shrub species; ●, ridge tree species; ▲, ridge shrub species.

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