Abstract
Salinity in water and soil is among the major constraints to the cultivation of ornamental crops since it can affect their growth and aesthetic value. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to assess whether the application of two different salts (80 mM NaCl or 53.3 mM CaCl2, with a final ionic concentration of 160 mM) could differently modulate the anatomical and physiological acclimation of an important ornamental species such as Viburnum tinus L. var. lucidum. Eco-physiological analyses (e.g., leaf gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence emission) were performed and leaves were subjected to light microscopy analysis to quantify functional anatomical traits through digital image analysis. Results showed that the two iso-osmotic solutions induced different structure-mediated physiological alterations in V. tinus plants. Photosynthesis was lowered by CaCl2 treatments (−58%) more than by NaCl (−37%), also due to the occurrence of photodamage apart from stomatal limitations. Neither Na+ nor Cl− exhibited toxic effects in leaf lamina structure which was reflected in the limited reduction in dry matter accumulation. Overall data were interpreted focusing on the coordination among leaf structural and functional traits suggesting that the fine control of functional anatomical traits contributes to physiological acclimation to both stressful conditions.
Highlights
The genus Viburnum, belonging to the Adoxaceae family, comprises nearly 200 species widely used as ornamentals in urban landscapes
Both salinity treatments significantly reduced all plant growth parameters whereas an opposite trend was recorded for the specific leaf weight (SLW) (Table 1)
The morphological modifications found in V. tinus var. lucidum plants were different from recent findings in C. citrinus plants subjected to the same iso-osmotic solutions, where salinity did not induce any changes in leaf lamina expansion, but canopy reduction was more severe in plants treated with
Summary
The genus Viburnum, belonging to the Adoxaceae family, comprises nearly 200 species widely used as ornamentals in urban landscapes. The Mediterranean area has suffered serious limitations to plant growth, development, and production due to climate change consequences, such as enhanced frequency, severity, and duration of drought periods, triggering the rising of the salinity levels in soil and water. Understanding the mechanisms of plants’ responses to abiotic stresses due to climate changes in arid and semi-arid areas is increasing for food crops and for ornamental species [4]. Water scarcity and low water quality have recently induced municipalities to consider the use of reclaimed water or industrial wastewater (with high salt concentration) for landscape irrigation [5]. Due to the poor quality of irrigation water, can contribute to plants experiencing osmotic stress even under adequate levels of water availability in the soil. Specific ionic effects due to unbalanced uptake and ionic toxicity can occur, causing in ornamental plants a visual quality depletion related to foliage damage and necrosis, growth
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