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Waterlogging under simulated late-winter conditions had little impact on the physiology and growth of Norway spruce seedlings

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Abstract

Context

Waterlogging is predicted to become more common in boreal forests during winter and early spring with climate change. So far, little is known about the waterlogging tolerance of boreal tree species during their winter dormancy.

Aim

The aim was to quantify the degree of waterlogging tolerance of 1-year-old dormant Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) seedlings.

Methods

The seedlings were exposed to waterlogging in a growth chamber at temperature of 2 °C for 4 weeks and then allowed to recover for 6 weeks during the growth stage. Shoot and root responses were monitored by physiological and growth measurements.

Results

No effect was found in the seedling biomass, but root mortality increased slightly during the early growth stage following waterlogging. The water potential of the needles became less negative at the end of the waterlogging and the early growth stage. The ratio of apoplastic to symplastic electrical resistance (R e/R i) of the needles was lower after waterlogging, indicating changes in the proportions of symplastic and apoplastic space. No differences were found between the treatments in the dark-acclimated chlorophyll fluorescence (F v/F m) of the needles. Slightly greater accumulation of starch and temporary reductions of some mineral nutrients in needles were found after waterlogging.

Conclusions

We conclude that in late winter and early spring, Norway spruce seedlings potentially tolerate short periods of waterlogging.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Eija Koljonen, Anita Pussinen, Urho Kettunen, Jussi Liinamo, and Jukka-Pekka Lappalainen for their technical assistance, Jaakko Heinonen for his advice on the statistical analyses, Sirkka Sutinen and Gang Zhang for their comments on the manuscript, and Pekka Hirvonen for revising the English text. The study was financed by the Academy of Finland (project 127924), the Finnish Forest Research Institute (project 3489), the Finnish network ‘Doctoral Programme in Forest Sciences’ and the Niemi Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu, P.O. Box 68, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Ai-Fang Wang, Marja Roitto & Tapani Repo

  2. School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Ai-Fang Wang & Tarja Lehto

  3. Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, 442 Earth Sciences Bldg., Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada

    Janusz J Zwiazek

  4. Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems, Estación Experimental del Zaidín (CSIC), Granada, 18008, Spain

    Mónica Calvo-Polanco

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  1. Ai-Fang Wang
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  2. Marja Roitto
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  4. Janusz J Zwiazek
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  5. Mónica Calvo-Polanco
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Correspondence to Tapani Repo.

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Handling Editor: Erwin Dreyer

Contribution of the co-authors Wang, Roitto, Lehto and Repo designed the experiment. Wang was responsible for running the experiment, analysis of the results, and majority of the writing. All the authors have contributed in preparing of the manuscript.

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Wang, AF., Roitto, M., Lehto, T. et al. Waterlogging under simulated late-winter conditions had little impact on the physiology and growth of Norway spruce seedlings. Annals of Forest Science 70, 781–790 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0325-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-013-0325-5

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