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Ecophysiological performance of Calotropis procera: an exotic and evergreen species in Caatinga, Brazilian semi-arid

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Abstract

To better understand the proliferation of Calotropis procera in a semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil (Caatinga), we designed two experiments to determine which ecophysiological characteristics contribute to the species adaptive success. The first experiment was conducted with young plants under greenhouse conditions and three water regimes. The second experiment was conducted with adult plants under field conditions subject to regional seasonality. Young plants exhibited a high tolerance to water deficits, mainly because of their strong stomatal control, which was observed before any biochemical alterations in leaf metabolism. Only under full suspension of irrigation did the plants show a reduction in relative water content. Under field conditions, adult plants showed a high resilience to the semi-arid environment with respect to gas exchange and other measured biochemical parameters, including photosynthetic pigment, soluble sugars, amino acids and protein content, even under the low soil water availability of the dry season. This season featured high photosynthetically active radiation, low relative humidity and high temperatures, and thus exposed plants to extreme differences between leaf and air temperatures. Calotropis procera remains green throughout the year, indicating that it has developed several means of tolerating the semi-arid climate. Furthermore, this species maintains a high photosynthetic rate despite reduced stomatal conductance, which increases its water use efficiency, a fundamental characteristic for survival in this ecosystem.

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Acknowledgments

G. Frosi and M.T. Oliveira are grateful to Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa e Tecnologia de Pernambuco (FACEPE) for scholarship received. M.G. Santos and J. Almeida-Cortez are grateful to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships received. This study was supported by CNPq (Proc. 473202/2008-5 and 314532/2009-9).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Ecophysiology, Department of Botany, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil

    Gabriella Frosi, Marciel Teixeira Oliveira & Mauro Guida Santos

  2. Laboratory Plant-Animal Interaction, Department of Botany, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 50670-901, Brazil

    Jarcilene Almeida-Cortez

Authors
  1. Gabriella Frosi
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  2. Marciel Teixeira Oliveira
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  3. Jarcilene Almeida-Cortez
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  4. Mauro Guida Santos
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Correspondence to Mauro Guida Santos.

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Communicated by J. Franklin.

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Frosi, G., Oliveira, M.T., Almeida-Cortez, J. et al. Ecophysiological performance of Calotropis procera: an exotic and evergreen species in Caatinga, Brazilian semi-arid. Acta Physiol Plant 35, 335–344 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-1076-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-012-1076-x

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