Abstract
Key message
Different tree species exposed to NaCl stress exhibited similar responses including elevated foliar K, increased foliar necrosis, as well as the exclusion or accumulation of foliar Na.
Abstract
Revegetation of boreal forest lands disturbed by surface mining for bitumen can be challenging due to fluctuating levels of soil NaCl and harsh winter temperatures. These stressors may hinder the growth and survival of planted tree seedlings. Two experiments were carried out to examine the processes of recovery from NaCl stress and overwintering in trembling aspen, tamarack, and white spruce seedlings. In the recovery experiment, seedlings were treated with 0, 50, or 100 mM NaCl for 60 days and then allowed to recover for 60 days. Most of the examined physiological variables (total dry weight, chlorophyll concentration, photosynthesis, and transpiration) in all examined species returned to control levels after 30 days of recovery from the NaCl treatment. In the overwintering experiment, seedlings were subjected to 0 or 50 mM NaCl treatment throughout the first growing season, overwintered, and treated with 0, 50, or 100 mM NaCl for 8 weeks during the second growing season. All tested species exhibited foliar chlorosis and necrosis from NaCl treatment in the first year. Several similarities were observed between species in both experiments, including increased foliar K and necrosis in trembling aspen and tamarack. Trembling aspen exhibited remarkably low foliar Na, whereas tamarack and white spruce had high concentrations of foliar Na despite the recovery of physiological variables to control levels. Elevated foliar K, necrosis, and Na management may constitute important salt resistance mechanisms for the tree species tested.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acosta-Motos JR, Diaz-Vivancos P, Alvarez S, Fernández-García N, Sanchez-Blanco MJ, Hernández JA (2015) Physiological and biochemical mechanisms of the ornamental Eugenia myrtifolia L. plants for coping with NaCl stress and recovery. Planta 242(4):829–846. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2315-3
Arif Y, Singh P, Siddiqui H, Bajguz A, Hayat S (2020) Salinity induced physiological and biochemical changes in plants: an omic approach towards salt stress tolerance. PPB 156:64–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.08.042
Berkowitz N, Speight JG (1975) The oil sands of Alberta. Fuel 54(3):138–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-2361(75)90001-0
Bertrand A, Castonguay Y (2003) Plant adaptations to overwintering stresses and implications of climate change. Can J Bot 81(12):1145–1152. https://doi.org/10.1139/b03-129
Boursiac Y, Chen S, Luu DT, Sorieul M, van den Dries N, Maurel C (2005) Early effects of salinity on water transport in Arabidopsis roots. Molecular and cellular features of aquaporin expression. Plant Physiol 139(2):790–805. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.105.065029
Cakmak I (2005) The role of potassium in alleviating detrimental effects of abiotic stresses in plants. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 168(4):521–530. https://doi.org/10.1002/jpln.200420485
Carrera-Hernandéz JJ, Mendoza CA, Devito KJ, Petrone RM, Smerdon BD (2012) Reclamation for aspen revegetation in the Athabasca oil sands: understanding soil water dynamics through unsaturated flow modeling. Can J Soil Sci 92(1):103–116. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss2010-035
Chaves MM, Flexas J, Pinheiro C (2009) Photosynthesis under drought and salt stress: regulation mechanisms from whole plant to cell. Ann Bot-London 103(4):551–560. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcn125
Chen Z, Newman I, Zhou M, Mendham N, Zhang G, Shabala S (2005) Screening plants for salt tolerance by measuring K flux: a case study for barley. Plant Cell Environ 28(10):1230–1246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2005.01364.x
Delfine S, Alvino A, Villani MC, Loreto F (1999) Restrictions to carbon dioxide conductance and photosynthesis in spinach leaves recovering from salt stress. Plant Physiol 119(3):1101–1106. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.119.3.1101
Escalante-Pérez M, Lautner S, Nehls U, Selle A, Teuber M, Schnitzler JP, Fromm J (2009) Salt stress affects xylem differentiation of gray poplar (Populus X canescens). Planta 229(2):299–309. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-008-0829-7
Franke R, Schreiber L (2007) Suberin—a biopolyester forming apoplastic plant interfaces. Curr Opin Plant Biol 10(3):252–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2007.04.004
George MF, Burke MJ (1984) Supercooling of tissue water to extreme low temperature in overwintering plants. Trends Biochem Sci 9(5):211–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/0968-0004(84)90066-5
Giesy JP, Anderson JC, Wiseman SB (2010) Alberta oil sands development. Proc Natl Acad Sci 107(3):951–952. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0912880107
Government of Alberta (2010) Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (Chapter E-13.3). Queen’s printer, Government of Alberta, Edmonton, AB. 152 p.
Isayenkov SV, Maathuis FJ (2019) Plant salinity stress: many unanswered questions remain. Front Plant Sci 10:80. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00080
Kessler S, Barbour SL, Van Rees KC, Dobchuk BS (2010) Salinization of soil over saline-sodic overburden from the oil sands in Alberta. Can J Soil Sci 90(4):637–647. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss10019
Kozlowski TT (2000) Responses of woody plants to human-induced environmental stresses: issues, problems, and strategies for alleviating stress. Crit Rev Plant Sci 19(2):91–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352680091139196
Lee SH, Calvo-Polanco M, Chung GC, Zwiazek JJ (2010) Role of aquaporins in root water transport of ectomycorrhizal jack pine (Pinus banksiana) seedlings exposed to NaCl and fluoride. Plant Cell Environ 33(5):769–780. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2009.02103.x
Liang W, Ma X, Wan P, Liu L (2018) Plant salt-tolerance mechanism: a review. BBRC 495(1):286–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.11.043
Lilles EB, Purdy BG, Chang SX, Macdonald SE (2010) Soil and groundwater characteristics of saline sites supporting boreal mixedwood forests in northern Alberta. Can J Soil Sci 90(1):1–14. https://doi.org/10.4141/CJSS08040
Lilles EB, Purdy BG, Macdonald SE, Chang SX (2012) Growth of aspen and white spruce on naturally saline sites in northern Alberta: implications for development of boreal forest vegetation on reclaimed saline soils. Can J Soil Sci 92(1):213–227. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss2010-032
Masojídek J, Trivedi S, Halshaw L, Alexiou A, Hall DO (1991) The synergistic effect of drought and light stresses in sorghum and pearl millet. Plant Physiol 96(1):198–207. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.96.1.198
Munné-Bosch S, Alegre L (2004) Die and let live: leaf senescence contributes to plant survival under drought stress. Funct Plant Biol 31(3):203–216. https://doi.org/10.1071/FP03236
Munns R, Tester M (2008) Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Annu Rev Plant Biol 59:651–681. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092911
Parihar P, Singh S, Singh R, Singh VP, Prasad SM (2015) Effect of salinity stress on plants and its tolerance strategies: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22(6):4056–4075. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3739-1
Purdy BG, Macdonald ES, Lieffers VJ (2005) Naturally saline boreal communities as models for reclamation of saline oil sand tailings. Restor Ecol 13(4):667–677. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2005.00085.x
Renault S (2005) Tamarack response to salinity: effects of sodium chloride on growth and ion, pigment, and soluble carbohydrate levels. Can J for Res 35(12):2806–2812. https://doi.org/10.1139/x05-194
Renault S, Paton E, Nilsson G, Zwiazek JJ, MacKinnon MD (1999) Responses of boreal plants to high salinity oil sands tailings water. JEQ 28(6):1957–1962. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1999.00472425002800060035x
Sestak Z, Catský J, Jarvis PG (1971) Plant photosynthetic production. Manual of Methods. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague
Shabala S, Munns R (2012) Salinity stress: physiological constraints and adaptive mechanisms. Plant Stress Physiol 1(1):59–93. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781780647296.0024
Sims DA, Gamon JA (2002) Relationships between leaf pigment content and spectral reflectance across a wide range of species, leaf structures and developmental stages. Remote Sens Environ 81(2–3):337–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(02)00010-X
Solis CA, Yong MT, Venkataraman G, Milham P, Zhou M, Shabala L, Chen ZH (2021) Sodium sequestration confers salinity tolerance in an ancestral wild rice. Physiol Plant 172(3):1594–1608. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppl.13352
Wang S, Blumwald E (2014) Stress-induced chloroplast degradation in Arabidopsis is regulated via a process independent of autophagy and senescence-associated vacuoles. Plant Cell 26(12):4875–4888. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.114.133116
Wang M, Zheng Q, Shen Q, Guo S (2013) The critical role of potassium in plant stress response. Int J Mol Sci 14(4):7370–7390. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms14047370
Waraich EA, Ahmad R, Ashraf MY, Saifullah AM (2011) Improving agricultural water use efficiency by nutrient management in crop plants. Acta Agriculturae Scand B-Soil Plant Sci 61(4):291–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2010.491954
Wu H (2018) Plant salt tolerance and Na+ sensing and transport. Crop J 6(3):215–225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cj.2018.01.003
Wu H, Zhang X, Giraldo JP, Shabala S (2018) It is not all about sodium: revealing tissue specificity and signaling roles of potassium in plant responses to salt stress. Plant Soil 431(1):1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3770-y
Zarcinas BA, Cartwright B, Spouncer LR (1987) Nitric acid digestion and multi-element analysis of plant material by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 18(1):131–146. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103628709367806
Zörb C, Senbayram M, Peiter E (2014) Potassium in agriculture–status and perspectives. Plant Physiol 171(9):656–669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2013.08.008
Acknowledgements
I am grateful for Dr. Simon Landhäusser and Dr. Barb Thomas for providing feedback during the initial stages of drafting the document. I am also grateful for the help and support from lab members, including: Ale Equiza, Seong Hee Lee, Wenquing Zhang, Mikal Castleton, Frank Tan, Deyu Mu, Hao Xu and Samantha Olivier. This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Total E&P Canada Ltd.
Funding
This research was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Total E&P Canada Ltd.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
NL designed the study, conducted the experiments, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The author declares no competing interests.
Additional information
Communicated by R. Guy .
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lauer, N. Recovery of trembling aspen, tamarack, and white spruce seedlings from NaCl stress following winter dormancy: implications for increased foliar potassium, necrosis, and sodium management as stress resistance mechanisms. Trees 36, 1633–1648 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-022-02318-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-022-02318-9