Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Threshold effect of the groundwater depth on the photosynthetic efficiency of Tamarix chinensis in the Yellow River Delta

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aims

Groundwater is a major factor that affects the growth and distribution of Tamarix chinensis in the Yellow River Delta (YRD). The response relationship between the photosynthetic physiological processes of T. chinensis and the depth to groundwater (DGW) remains unclear. This paper aims to elucidate the response pattern of photosynthetic efficiency to the DGW and to determine the suitable DGW for the growth of T. chinensis.

Methods

Three-year-old T. chinensis, a dominant species in the YRD, was used as the research object, and seven DGW treatments of 0–1.8 m under low salinity conditions were simulated to determine and analyse the biomass of T. chinensis, the light responses of leaf gas exchange parameters, and the photosynthetic productivity classification under different DGW treatments.

Results

There were significant threshold effects of the DGW on the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), and water use efficiency (WUE) of T. chinensis leaves, indicating that photosynthetic parameters had significant DGW threshold effects. Different DGW treatments significantly changed the water and salt conditions in the T. chinensis-planted soil column, thereby significantly affecting T. chinensis growth, photosynthetic capacity, and WUE. With increasing the DGW, the soil relative water content and soil salt content gradually decreased, while the soil solution absolute concentration and T. chinensis biomass first decreased and then increased, followed by another decrease. The growth and photosynthetic capacity of T. chinensis at a high DGW (≥1.2 m) were significantly higher than those at a low DGW (≤0.6 m). At the medium DGW of 0.9 m, the biomass, photosynthetic capacity, water consumption associated with transpiration, and water and light use efficiencies of T. chinensis all reached their highest values. When the DGW was increased from 0.9 m to 1.8 m or decreased from 0.9 m to 0.3 m, the reduction of Pn in T. chinensis changed from a stomatal to a non-stomatal limitation. At the shallow DGW (≤0.3 m) and the deep DGW (1.8 m), the reduction in Pn was largely affected by photosynthetically active radiation. The 1.03–1.44 m DGW was referred to as the “high-yield and high-efficiency DGW”, at which T. chinensis exhibited good growth, high photosynthetic capacity, and high-efficiency physiological water use characteristics.

Conclusions

Differences in the DGW changed the soil water content and salt content, and the soil solution absolute concentration was a key factor that affected the growth and photosynthetic efficiency of T. chinensis. However, soil drought stress at the deep DGW and soil salt stress at the shallow DGW were the main factors that affected the photosynthetic physiological processes of T. chinensis. T. chinensis exhibited adaptability characteristics of adequate tolerance to drought stress but intolerance to salt and flooding stresses.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

A s :

Soil solution absolute concentration

C i :

Intercellular CO2 concentration

G s :

Stomatal conductance

DGW:

Depth to groundwater

L s :

Stomatal limitation

LCP:

Light compensation point

LSP:

Light saturation point

PAR:

Photosynthetically active radiation

P n :

Net photosynthetic rate

P nmax :

Maximal net photosynthetic rate

RWC:

Soil relative water content

S c :

Soil salt content

T r :

Transpiration rate

WUE:

Water use efficiency

AQY:

Apparent quantum yield

YRD:

Yellow River Delta

References

  • An LS, Zhou BH, Zhao QS, Wang L (2017) Spatial distribution of vegetation and environmental interpretation in the Yellow River Delta. Acta Ecol Sin 37(20):6809–6817

    Google Scholar 

  • Antonellini M, Mollema PN (2010) Impact of groundwater salinity on vegetation species richness in the coastal pine forests and wetlands, of Ravenna Italy. Ecol Eng 36(9):1201–1211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bai YF, Xu HL, Zhang P, Zhang GP, Ling HB (2017) Relation of desert vegetation species diversity and aboveground biomass to groundwater depth in the lower reaches of Tarim River. J Desert Res 37(4):724–732

    Google Scholar 

  • Brolsma RJ, Beek LP, Bierkens MF (2010) Vegetation competition model for water and light limitation II: spatial dynamics of groundwater and vegetation. Ecol Model 221(10):1364–1377

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brotherson JD (1987) Tamarix: impacts of a successful weed. Rangelands 9(3):110–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen YP, Chen YN, Xu CC, Li WH (2011) Photosynthesis and water use efficiency of Populus euphratica in response to changing groundwater depth and CO2 concentration. Environ Earth Sci 62:119–125

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen YP, Chen YN, Xu CC, Li WH (2012) Groundwater depth affects the daily course of gas exchange parameters of Populus euphratica in arid areas. Environ Earth Sci 66:433–440

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Duan BL, Wang ML, Korpelainen H, Li CY (2014) Intra- and inter-sexual competition of Populus cathayana under different watering regimes. Funct Ecol 28(1):124–136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen YP, Chen YN, Xu CC, Li WH (2016) The effects of groundwater depth on water uptake of Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima in the hyperarid region of northwestern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:17404–17412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cui BS, Yang QC, Zhang KJ, Zhao XS, You ZY (2010) Responses of saltcedar (Tamarix chinensis) to water table depth and soil salinity in the Yellow River Delta, China. Plant Ecol 209:279–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dang YL, Han W, Ma XH, Guan WK, Fei BQ, Cui KQ, Zhang Y (2017) Effects on photosynthetic characteristics of Tamarix chinensis to different groundwater depth on the north shore of Boston Lake. Ecol Sci 36(6):188–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Farquhar GD, Sharkey TD (1982) Stomatal conductance and photosynthesis. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 33:317–345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Felipe O, Parikshit V, Steven PL, Daly E (2012) Monitoring and modelling water-vegetation interactions in groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Rev Geophys 50:1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Gou S, Miller G (2014) A groundwater–soil–plant–atmosphere continuum approach for modelling water stress, uptake, and hydraulic redistribution in phreatophytic vegetation. Ecohydrology 7:1029–1041

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu MF, Li N, Shao TY, Long XH, Brestič M, Shao HB, Li JB, rki S (2016) Accumulation capacity of ions in cabbage (brassica oleracea L.) supplied with sea water. Plant Soil Environ 62(7):314–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo QX, Song HF, Kang JY, Korpelainen H, Li CY (2018) Different responses in leaf-level physiology to competition and facilitation under different soil types and N fertilization. Environ Exp Bot 150:69–78

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horton JL, Kolb TE, Hart SC (2001a) Responses of riparian trees to inter-annual variation in ground water depth in a semi-aridriver basin. Plant Cell Environ 24:293–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horton JL, Thomas EK, Stephen CH (2001b) Physiological response to ground water depth varies among species and with river flow regulation. Ecol Appl 11(4):1046–1059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horton JL, Hart SC, Kolb TE (2003) Physiological condition and water source use of Sonoran desert riparian trees at the bill Williams River, Arizona, USA. Isot Environ Health Stud 39:69–82

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Imada S, Matsuo N, Acharya K, Yamanaka N (2015) Effects of salinity on fine root distribution and whole plant biomass of Tamarix ramosissima cuttings. J Arid Environ 114:84–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Wang Y, Jiang J, Liu G, Gao C, Yang C (2009) Identification of genes responsive to salt stress on tamarix hispida roots. Gene 433(1):65–71

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li WQ, Khan MA, Zhang XM, Liu XJ (2010) Rooting and shoot growth of stem cuttings of saltcedar (Tamarix chinensis Lour) under salt stress. Pak J Bot 42(6):4133–4142

    Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Yu B, Zhao C, Nowak RS, Zhao Z, Sheng Y, Li J (2013) Physiological and morphological responses of Tamarix ramosissima and Populus euphratica to altered groundwater availability. Tree Physiol 33:57–68

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li XM, Yang Q, Li ZZ, Liu HO, Feng JC (2016) Response of foliage respiratory characteristics of Populus euphratica to underground water table. Ecol Sci 35(3):29–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Li YF, Yu JJ, Lu K, Wang P, Zhang YC, Du CY (2017) Water sources of Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima in Ejina Delta, the lower reaches of the Heihe River, China. Chin J Plant Ecol 41(5):519–528

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu WG, Zou J (2014) Reed photosynthetic response under water-salt stress in Keyiya River watershed. Acta Botan Boreali-Occiden Sin 34(3):572–580

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Guan HD, Zhao WZ, Yang YT, Li SB (2017) Groundwater facilitated water-use efficiency along a gradient of groundwater depth in arid northwestern China. Agric For Meteorol 233:235–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma JX, Chen YN, Li WH, Huang X, Zhu CG, Ma XD (2010) Response of sap flow in Populus euphratica to changes in groundwater depth in the middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River of northwestern China. Chin J Plant Ecol 34:915–923

    Google Scholar 

  • Maria BG, Jose MF (2005) Strategies underlying salt tolerance in halophytes are present in Cynara cardunculus. Plant Sci 168:653–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mbarki S, Sytar O, Cerda A, Zivcak M, Rastogi A, He X, Aziza Z, Chedly A, Marian B (2018) Strategies to mitigate the salt stress effects on photosynthetic apparatus and productivity of crop plants. In: V. Kumar et al. (eds) Salinity responses and tolerance in plants, Volume 1, Springer International Publishing

  • Moffett KB, Gorelick SM, Mclaren RG, Sudicky EA (2012) Salt marsh ecohydrological zonation due to heterogeneous vegetation-groundwater-surface water interactions. Water Resour Res 48:350–361

    Google Scholar 

  • Nippert JB, Jr BJ, Kluitenberg GJ, Whittemore DO, Arnold D, Spal SE, Ward JK (2010) Patterns of Tamarix water use during a record drought. Oeeologia 162(2):283–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Rains MC, Mount JF, Larsen AEW (2004) Simulated changes in shallow groundwater and vegetation distributions under different reservoir operations scenarios. Ecol Appl 14:192–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez E, Scordia D, Lino C, Arias C, Cosentino SL, Nogues S (2015) Salinity and water stress effects on biomass production in different Arundo donax L. clones. Bioenergy Research 8:1461–1479

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Su H, Li YG, Su BY, Sun JX (2012) Effects of groundwater decline on photosynthetic characteristic and stress tolerance of Ulmus pumila in Hunshandake Sandy land, China. Chin J Plant Ecol 36:178–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Vonlanthen B, Zhang XM, Bruelheide H (2010) Clonal structure and genetic diversity of three desert phreatophytes. Am J Bot 97(2):234–242

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waisel Y (2010) The glands of tamarix aphylla: a system for salt recretion or for carbon concentration? Physiol Plant 83(3):506–510

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Zhao CY, Li J (2012) Effects of groundwater depth and mineralization degree on photosynthesis and growth of Tamarix Ramosissima seedlings. Bull Soil Water Conserv 32(2):84–89

  • Wu GL, Jiang SW, Zhou TH, Wang DD, Li J (2016) Water use strategies of seedlings of Populus euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima under different groundwater depths. Arid Zone Res 33(6):1209–1216

    Google Scholar 

  • Xia JB, Zhang GC, Liu G, Han W, Chen J, Liu X (2007) Light response of Wisteria sinensis leaves physiological Param eters under different soilmoisture conditions. Chin J Appl Ecol 18(1):30–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Xia JB, Zhao XM, Ren JY, Lang Y, Qu FZ, Xu H (2017) Photosynthetic and water physiological characteristics of Tamarix chinensis under different groundwater salinity conditions. Environ Exp Bot 138:173–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu GX, Wang L, Xu XY, Jin HX, Chai CW (2017) Impact of groundwater level on growth and species diversity of Tamarix ramosissima community around oasis fringe in Minqin. Grassland and Turf 37(2):49–56

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan HL, Zhang XM, Xv H, Liu Y (2010) Photosynthetic characteristics responds of three plants to drought stress in Tarim Desert highway shelterbelt. Acta Ecol Sin 30:2519–2528

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan K, Shao HB, Shao CY, Chen P, Zhao SJ, Brestic M, Chen XB (2013) Physiological adaptive mechanisms of plant grown in saline soil and implications for sustainable saline agriculture in coastal zone. Acta Physiol Plant 35(10):2867–2878

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ye ZP (2007) A new model for relationship between irradiance and the rate of photosynthesis in Oryza sativa. Photosynthetica 45:637–640

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu TF, Qi F, Si JH, Zhang XY, Zhao CY (2017) Tamarix ramosissima stand evapotranspiration and its association with hydroclimatic factors in an arid region in Northwest China. J Arid Environ 138:18–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang SY, Zhang GC, Gu SY, Xia JB, Zhao JK (2010) Critical responses of photosynthetic efficiency of goldspur apple tree to soil water variation in semiarid loess hilly area. Photosynthetica 48(4):589–595

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang SY, Xia JB, Zhang GC, Zhao ZG, Zhao YY, Shao HB, Sun JK, Shao CY, Liu Q (2014) Threshold effects of photosynthetic efficiency parameters of wild jujube in response to soil moisture variation on shell beach ridges, Shangdong, China. Plant Biosystems 148:140–149

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Li P, Li ZB, Yu GQ (2017) Soil water-salt dynamics state and associated sensitivity factors in an irrigation district of the loess area: a case study in the Luohui Canal Irrigation District, China. Environ Earth Sci 76:715

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Y, Zhao CY, Xu ZL, Liu YY, Wang Y, Wang C, Peng HH, Zheng XL (2012) Physiological responses of Populus euphratica Oliv. To groundwater table variation in the lower reaches of Heihe River, Northwest China. J Arid Land 4:281–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFC0505904), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770761; 31370702), the Key Research and Development Program of Shandong Province (2017GSF17104; 2017CXGC0316), and the Forestry Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shandong Province (LYCX07-2018-38).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou, 256603, China

    Jiangbao Xia, Jiayun Ren, Ximei Zhao, Fengjuan Zhao, Hongjun Yang & Junhua Liu

  2. College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forest University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Junhua Liu

Authors
  1. Jiangbao Xia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jiayun Ren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ximei Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fengjuan Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hongjun Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Junhua Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiangbao Xia.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Susan Schwinning.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Xia, J., Ren, J., Zhao, X. et al. Threshold effect of the groundwater depth on the photosynthetic efficiency of Tamarix chinensis in the Yellow River Delta. Plant Soil 433, 157–171 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3829-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3829-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation