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How do riparian woody seedlings survive seasonal drought?

  • Physiological ecology - Original paper
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Abstract

In semi-arid regions, a major population limitation for riparian trees is seedling desiccation during the dry season that follows annual spring floods. We investigated the stress response of first-year pioneer riparian seedlings to experimental water table declines (0, 1 and 3 cm day−1), focusing on the three dominant cottonwood and willows (family Salicaceae) in California’s San Joaquin Basin. We analyzed growth and belowground allocation response to water stress, and used logistic regression to determine if these traits had an influence on individual survival. The models indicate that high root growth (>3 mm day−1) and low shoot:root ratios (<1.5 g g−1) strongly predicted survival, but there was no evidence that plants increased belowground allocation in response to drawdown. Leaf δ13C values shifted most for the best-surviving species (net change of +3.5 per mil from −30.0 ± 0.3 control values for Goodding’s willow, Salix gooddingii), implying an important role of increased water-use efficiency for surviving water stress. Both S. gooddingii and sandbar willow (S. exigua) reduced leaf size from controls, whereas Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) sustained a 29% reduction in specific leaf area (from 13.4 to 9.6 m2 kg−1). The functional responses exhibited by Goodding’s willow, the more drought-tolerant species, may play a role in its greater relative abundance in dry regions such as the San Joaquin Basin. This study highlights the potential for a shift in riparian forest composition. Under a future drier climate regime or under reduced regulated river flows, our results suggest that willow establishment will be favored over cottonwood.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the CALFED Bay-Delta Program (Science Program # to JCS and ERP #99-B152 to Stillwater Sciences), the National Science Foundation (Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant # DEB-0309135), and the California Agricultural Research Station. We thank D. Fuchs, A.-M. Osterback and A. Tokunaga for their diligent field and lab work, J. McBride, B. Orr, and A. Das and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on analyses and early drafts, S. Mambelli, P. Brooks and T. Dawson for advice on isotope analysis, and the Center for Forestry at the University of California for the use of its facilities. The experiment reported on herein complied with all laws of the United States, where it was performed.

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  1. Department of Forest and Natural Resource Management, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), One Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY, 13210-2788, USA

    John C. Stella

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California at Berkeley, 137 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA

    John J. Battles

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  1. John C. Stella
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Correspondence to John C. Stella.

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Communicated by Frederick C. Meinzer.

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Stella, J.C., Battles, J.J. How do riparian woody seedlings survive seasonal drought?. Oecologia 164, 579–590 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-010-1657-6

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