High levels of inter-ramet water translocation in two rhizomatous Carex species, as quantified by deuterium labelling

• Published in: Oecologia 1996-04, Vol.106 (1), p.73-84
• Main Authors: Kroon, H. de, Fransen, B, Rheenen, J.W.A. van, Dijk, A. van, Kreulen, R. (Utrecht Univ. (Netherlands). Dept. of Plant Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; CAREX; Carex flacca; Carex hirta; Clonal plants; CLONE; CLONES; Daughters; Deuterium; DROUGHT; FISIOLOGIA VEGETAL; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Mothers; NUTRIENT TRANSPORT; Physiological integration; PHYSIOLOGIE VEGETALE; PLANT PHYSIOLOGY; PLANT WATER RELATIONS; Plants; Plants and fungi; Population Ecology; RELACIONES PLANTA AGUA; RELATION PLANTE EAU; REPRODUCCION ASEXUAL; REPRODUCTION ASEXUEE; RHIZOME; RHIZOMES; RIZOMAS; SECHERESSE; SEQUIA; Soil water; Terrestrial Ecology and Nature Conservation; Terrestrische ecologie en natuurbeheer; Transpiration; TRANSPORT DES SUBSTANCES NUTRITIVES; TRANSPORTE DE NUTRIENTES; Water transport; Water treatment; Water uptake; WIMEK
• ISSN: 0029-8549; 1432-1939
• DOI: 10.1007/BF00334409

We studied water translocation between interconnected mother and daughter ramets in two rhizomatous Carex species, using a newly developed quantitative method based on deuterium tracing. Under homogeneous conditions, in which both ramets were subjected either to wet or dry soil, little water was exchanged between the ramets. When the ramet pair was exposed to a heterogeneous water supply, water translocation became unidirectional and strongly increased to a level at which 30-60% of the water acquired by the wet ramet was exported towards the dry ramet. The quantity of water translocated was unrelated to the difference in water potential between the ramets, but highly correlated to the difference in leaf area. In both species, the transpiration of the entire plant was similar under heterogeneous and homogeneous wet conditions. This was a direct result of an increase in water uptake by the wet ramet in response to the dry conditions experienced by the interconnected ramet. In C. hirta, the costs and benefits of integration in terms of ramet biomass paralleled the responses of water consumption. This species achieved a similar whole-plant biomass in heterogeneous and homogeneous wet treatments, and water translocation was equally effective in the acropetal and basipetal directions. In C. flacca, responses of biomass and water consumption did not match and, under some conditions, water translocation imposed costs rather than benefits to the plants of this species. It is concluded that enhanced resource acquisition by donor ramets may be of critical importance for the net benefits of physiological integration in clonal plants.