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Responses of nonstructural carbohydrates to shoot removal and soil moisture treatments in Salix nigra

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Abstract

Aboveground disturbances are common in dynamic riparian environments, and Salix nigra is well adapted with a vigorous resprouting response. Soil moisture stresses are also common, and S. nigra is flood tolerant and drought sensitive. The objective of this study was to quantify nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves in S. nigra following shoot removal and soil moisture treatments. NSC reserves provide energy for regeneration of shoot tissue until new functional leaves are developed. Three soil moisture treatments: well-watered (W), periodic flooding (F) and drought (D); and three shoot removal treatments: no shoots removed (R0), partial shoot removal (R1), and complete shoot removal (R2) were applied. Plants were harvested when new shoot development was observed (day 13). Statistical significance in the 3 × 3-factorial design was determined in two-factor ANOVA at P < 0.05. Both roots and cuttings were important reservoirs for NSC during resprouting response, with decreases in root (31%) and cutting (14%) biomass in R2 compared to R0. Rapid recovery of photosynthetic surface area (from 15 to 37% of R0) was found in R1. A clear pattern of starch mobilization was found in roots in R0, R1 and R2, with lowest root starch concentration in W, F higher than W, and D higher than F. Shoot starch concentration was lower in F and D compared to W in R0, however, in R1 shoot starch was reduced in W compared to F and D, possibly indicating reduced rates of translocation during soil moisture stress. Evidence of osmotic adjustment was found in roots and shoots with higher total ethanol-soluble carbohydrates (TESC) during soil moisture stress in F and D treatments. Total plant NSC pool was greater in F and D treatments compared to W, and progressively reduced from R0 to R1 to R2. Results indicated negative effects of drought, and to a lesser extent periodic flooding on resprouting response in S. nigra, with implications for reduced survival when exposed to combined stresses of aboveground disturbance and soil moisture.

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Acknowledgments

Partial funding for this project was provided by The Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs and U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Sedimentation Laboratory. We thank: Heidi Bissell and the Memphis Zoo for training in carbohydrates analyses; Silpa Pallopathu, Brian Knight, Brandi Johnson and Lyndsay Saunders for contributing over 100 h each to data collection; Steve Kynerd for assistance with experimental set up; Dr. Corinna Ethington for statistical support; and Don Baud, Raquel Marion, Sam Pierce, Dr. Scott Franklin and Margaret Cirtain for their valuable help during the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA

    L. T. Carpenter & S. R. Pezeshki

  2. National Sedimentation Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Oxford, MS, 38655, USA

    F. D. Shields Jr

  3. Engineer Research and Development Center, USACE, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, USA

    L. T. Carpenter

Authors
  1. L. T. Carpenter
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  2. S. R. Pezeshki
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  3. F. D. Shields Jr
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Correspondence to L. T. Carpenter.

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Communicated by M. Buckeridge.

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Carpenter, L.T., Pezeshki, S.R. & Shields, F.D. Responses of nonstructural carbohydrates to shoot removal and soil moisture treatments in Salix nigra . Trees 22, 737–748 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0234-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-008-0234-7

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