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Photosynthetic response of four fern species from different habitats to drought stress: relationship between morpho-anatomical and physiological traits

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Photosynthetica

Abstract

Ferns flourish in many habitats, from epiphytic to terrestrial and from sunny to shady, and such varied conditions require contrasting photosynthetic strategies to cope with drought. Four species of temperate ferns from different habitats were subjected to drought by withholding irrigation in order to investigate their photosynthetic responses. Lepisorus thunbergianus (epiphytic) had low stomatal density and showed high water-use efficiency (WUE) retaining photosynthetic activity with low relative frond water content under drought stress, which suggested their high adaptation to drought. On the other hand, low WUE with low light-saturated photosynthetic rate in Adiantum pedatum (terrestrial, shady environment) was associated with much lower photosynthesis than in the other species under drought stress, suggesting lower adaptation to drought-prone habitats. Morphological stomatal traits such as stomatal density and photosynthetic response to drought in ferns involved species-specific adaptation to survive and grow in their natural habitats with different levels of drought.

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Abbreviations

C i :

internal CO2 concentration

DM:

dry mass of frond

FM:

fresh mass of frond

FWC:

frond water content

g s :

stomatal conductance

J :

electron transport rate

LMA:

leaf mass per area

P max :

light-saturated photosynthetic rate

P N :

net photosynthetic rate

WUE (P max/g s):

photosynthetic water-use efficiency

RFWC:

relative frond water content

SWC:

relative soil water contents

TM:

turgid mass of frond

V cmax :

maximum carboxylation rate

VPD:

vapor pressure deficit

δ13C:

carbon isotope ratio

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8585, Japan

    K. Nishida

  2. Department of Applied Biology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8585, Japan

    Y. T. Hanba

Authors
  1. K. Nishida
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  2. Y. T. Hanba
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. Nishida.

Additional information

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Dr. Jiro Tatsumi for supporting our study. We thank Dr. Sakihito Kitajima for helpful comments on the manuscript. The carbon isotope ratio was measured at the Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, and we thank Drs. Tayasu Ichiro and Riyo Hirasawa for their assistance in making these measurements. This work was supported by a Research Grant for Young Scientists in Kyoto Institute of Technology in 2012 2013, and 2015 (K. Nishida).

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Nishida, K., Hanba, Y.T. Photosynthetic response of four fern species from different habitats to drought stress: relationship between morpho-anatomical and physiological traits. Photosynthetica 55, 689–697 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-017-0694-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-017-0694-3

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