Stem notching decreases stem hydraulic conductance but does not influence drought impacts and post‐drought recovery in Scots pine and Norway spruce

The tight connection between the deterioration of xylem function and plant mortality under drought is well recognized. However, a lack of mechanistic understanding of how substantial conductivity loss influences plant performance under drought and during post‐drought recovery hinders our ability to...

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Published in:Physiologia plantarum 2022-11, Vol.174 (6), p.e13813-n/a
Main Authors: Zlobin, Ilya E., Kartashov, Alexander V., Ivanov, Yury V., Ivanova, Alexandra I., Kuznetsov, Vladimir V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conductance
Drought
Drought Resistance
Droughts
Environmental impact
Evergreen trees
Hydraulics
Mortality
Norway
Notches
Picea abies
Pine needles
Pine trees
Pinus sylvestris
Plant Leaves - physiology
Plant Stomata - physiology
Plants (botany)
Recovery
Stems
Stomata
Stomatal conductance
Trees - physiology
Water - physiology
Xylem
Xylem - physiology
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Summary:The tight connection between the deterioration of xylem function and plant mortality under drought is well recognized. However, a lack of mechanistic understanding of how substantial conductivity loss influences plant performance under drought and during post‐drought recovery hinders our ability to model tree responses to drought stress. We artificially induced a loss of 50% of xylem conducting area in Scots pine and Norway spruce saplings by stem notching and investigated plant performance under drought and during post‐drought recovery. Plant mortality, xylem hydraulic conductivity, leaf water status and stomatal conductance were measured. We observed no preferential mortality of top plant parts (above the notches) compared to basal plant parts (below the notches), and no consistent trend in hydraulic conductivity loss was observed between top and basal parts of dying plants. Stem hydraulic conductivity, water status of the needles and stomatal conductance changed similarly between the top and basal parts during drought and post‐drought recovery, which indicated the substantial hydraulic overcapacity of the stems. The recovery of stomatal conductance demonstrated prominent hysteresis due to non‐hydraulic stomatal limitations. The results obtained are highly important for modelling the influence of plant hydraulic impairment on plant performance under drought and during post‐drought recovery.
ISSN:0031-9317
1399-3054
DOI:10.1111/ppl.13813