Salix myrtillacea Female Cuttings Performed Better Than Males under Nitrogen Deposition on Leaves and Drought Conditions

Forests

Haifeng Song¹  Baoli Duan²  Zeyu Cai²  Yanying Han³ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China;Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Ecological Regulation, Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China;Resources and Environment College, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry University, Nyingchi 860000, China;

关键词: Salix myrtillacea;    nitrogen deposition;    drought;    abscisic acid;    antioxidant enzyme;   

DOI  :  10.3390/f13060821

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Drought and nitrogen (N) deposition are major threats to global forests under climate change. However, investigation into how dioecious woody species acclimate to drought and N deposition and how this is influenced by gender has, so far, been unexplored. We examined the phenotypic and physiological changes in Salix myrtillacea females and males under 60 d drought, and wet N deposition on leaves’ treatments. Drought inhibited their growth by limiting water acquisition, photosynthesis, and increasing oxidative stress, especially in males. However, females exhibited greater drought resistance than males due to their better water acquisition ability and instantaneous water use efficiency (WUE_leaf), higher foliar abscisic acid (ABA) and auxin (IAA) levels and greater antioxidase activities. N deposition increased foliar ABA, H₂O₂ accumulation, and reduced N distribution to the leaves, causing restricted photosynthesis and aerial growth in males. Interestingly, N deposition improved biomass accumulation in both the genders under drought, with greater positive effects on drought-stressed males by increasing their radial growth and causing greater N distribution to the leaves, increased foliar IAA and reduced oxidative stress. Regardless, S. myrtillacea females still showed better growth and drought resistance than males under both drought and N deposition. The females’ superior performance indicated that they are more appropriate for forestation, thus supporting the dominant gender’s selection in the afforestation of unisexual S. myrtillacea in drought and severe N deposition regions.

【 授权许可】

Unknown