Journal
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
Volume 145, Issue -, Pages 1-9Publisher
ELSEVIER FRANCE-EDITIONS SCIENTIFIQUES MEDICALES ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2019.10.024
Keywords
Hydraulic failure; NSC; Recovery; Starch; Water use strategies
Categories
Funding
- Fondazione Beneficentia Stiftung
- Grant for Short-Term Mobility (KUWI) Theses and Specialized Courses Abroad of the University of Graz
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The maintenance of hydraulic function during and after a drought event is crucial for tree survival, but the importance of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) in the recovery phase is still debated. We tested whether higher NSC availability facilitates post-drought hydraulic recovery, by applying a short-term drought (S-dr) and a long-term drought combined with shading (Ldr+sh) in Fraxinus ornus and Ostrya carpinifolia. Plants were then reirrigated and recovery was checked 24 h later, by measuring water potential, stem percentage loss of hydraulic conductance (PLC) and NSC content. The relative magnitude of hydraulic and carbon constraints was also assessed in desiccated plants. During drought, PLC increased only in F. ornus, while it was maintained almost constant in O. carpinifolia due to tighter stomatal control of xylem pressure (i.e. more isohydric). In F. ornus, only S-dr plants maintained high NSC contents at the end of drought and, when re-irrigated, recovered PLC to control values. Whereas hydraulic failure was ubiquitous, only F. ornus depleted NSC reserves at mortality. Our results suggest that preserving higher NSC content at the end of a drought can be important for the hydraulic resilience of trees.
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