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Photosynthesis and growth adaptation of Pterocarya stenoptera and Pinus elliottii seedlings to submergence and drought

  • Original Papers
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Photosynthetica

Abstract

To uncover adaptation capacities of two flooding-tolerant plant species, Pterocarya stenoptera (a native species) and Pinus elliottii (an exotic species from southeastern USA), to alternating submergence and drought, we investigated their physiological and growth responses to water stress. Water treatments, including control, continuous flooding (CF), and periodic flooding and drought (PF), were applied to seedlings in order to simulate water level fluctuation in the hydrofluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Results showed that net photosynthetic rate (P N), stomatal conductance, and intrinsic water-use efficiency of both plant species were negatively affected under CF and PF compared with the corresponding controls. The P N of both species under PF was comparable to that under CF. At the end of the experiment, the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO2 concentration was not statistically different between water treatments, while that of P. elliottii was significantly higher than that of P. stenoptera. Although P. stenoptera formed lenticels under flooding conditions, P. elliottii seedlings allocated more mass to leaves and increased the relative growth rate of height to enhance the photosynthetic efficiency. Our results illustrated that P. stenoptera and P. elliottii seedlings developed different adaptive strategies in response to flooding, both CF and PF. Therefore, both P. stenoptera and P. elliottii are promising candidates for the vegetation reconstruction of the riparian zones in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region.

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Abbreviations

C:

control

CF:

continuous flooding

C i/C a :

the ratio of intercellular to ambient CO2 concentration

Eh :

soil redox potential

g s :

stomatal conductance

PF:

periodic flooding and drought

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

RGR:

relative growth rate

WUEi :

intrinsic water-use efficiency

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for the Eco-Environment of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Southwest University, 400715, Chongqing, China

    Y. Yang & C. Li

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  1. Y. Yang
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  2. C. Li
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Correspondence to C. Li.

Additional information

Acknowledgments: This research was funded by the International Cooperation Program of Ministry of Science and Technology (No. 2015DFA90900, 2011DFG32780), the Key Project of Chongqing Natural Science Foundation Program (CSTC-2013JJB00004), Basic Research Fund for Central Universities (No. XDJK2013A011), National Forestry Public Welfare Industry Research Special (No. 201004039), Chongqing Natural Science Foundation Program (CSTC-2012jjA80003), and Scientific Research Foundation for Returned Overseas Students (2010-1561). We are indebted to Hans Cornelissen, Rebecca Schneider, William Lamberts, Megan Levis, Emily Reimer, and Tyler Heimerl for language improvement on earlier drafts. The authors would like to thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions that helped us to improve our manuscript significantly.

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Yang, Y., Li, C. Photosynthesis and growth adaptation of Pterocarya stenoptera and Pinus elliottii seedlings to submergence and drought. Photosynthetica 54, 120–129 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-015-0171-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-015-0171-9

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