Growth and Physiological Responses of Temperate Pasture Species to Consecutive Heat and Drought Stresses.

Perera Perera,Eckard Eckard,Cullen Cullen

doi:10.3390/plants8070227

Abstract

Heat and drought are two major limiting factors for perennial pasture production in south eastern Australia. Although previous studies have focused on the effects of prolonged heat and drought stresses on pasture growth and physiology, the effects of short term recurring combined heat and drought stresses and the recovery from them have not been studied in detail. A controlled environment experiment was conducted to investigate the growth and physiological responses of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) plants exposed to two consecutive seven day heat (control = 25/15 °C day/night; moderate = 30/20 °C day/night and severe = 35/30 °C day/night) and/or drought stresses each followed by a seven day recovery period. During the first moderate and severe heat and drought treatments, maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), cell membrane permeability and relative leaf water content decreased in chicory and tall fescue compared to perennial ryegrass and cocksfoot. However, during the second moderate heat and drought treatment, all species showed less reduction in the same parameters suggesting that these species acclimated to consecutive moderate heat and drought stresses. Chicory was the only species that was not affected by the second severe heat and drought stress while physiological parameters of all grass species were reduced closer to minimum values. Irrigation mitigated the negative effects of heat stress by cooling the canopies 1–3 °C below air temperatures with the most cooling observed in chicory. All the species exposed to moderate heat and drought were fully recovered and those exposed to severe heat and drought recovered partially at the end of the experiment. These findings suggest that chicory may be a potential species for areas subject to frequent heat and drought stress.

Highlights

Global mean temperature is increasing at a rate of 0.2 ◦ C per decade and projected to increase by 1.5 ◦ C above pre-industrial levels (1850–1900) by 2050 if global warming continues at the current rate [1]
These results demonstrate that the plant species used in this study were better able to acclimate to consecutive moderate heat stress combined with drought stresses. This is an important characteristic in the cool season grasses to produce biomass under warmer and drier climates predicted for the coming decades in SE Australia. These results suggest that tall fescue has similar stress tolerance compared to perennial ryegrass, which is in contrast with field studies that demonstrate that tall fescue is more persistent in pastures in south eastern Australia [64]
This study demonstrated that temperate cool season pasture species can acclimate to combined moderate heat and drought stresses, but chicory is the only species that maintained growth under combined severe heat and drought stress

Summary

Introduction

Global mean temperature is increasing at a rate of 0.2 ◦ C per decade and projected to increase by 1.5 ◦ C above pre-industrial levels (1850–1900) by 2050 if global warming continues at the current rate [1]. The frequency, magnitude and duration of extreme climate events such as heat waves and droughts are increasing [2]. These climatic conditions are highly likely to challenge the production and persistence of perennial pastures in south eastern (SE) Australia, mainly in summer months (December–February). This in turn affects the profitability of the livestock industry since home grown pasture is the cheapest source of feed for livestock [3].

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