Interspecies diversity in morphological responses to water stress: Study on a panel of weed and crop species

Abstract

Climate change modifies the dynamics and the quantity of plant water supply, and plant morphological response to environmental factors plays a key role in crop-weed interactions. This study investigated the interspecies diversity related to the morphological responses of annual herbaceous species to water stress. Key morphological traits were measured at two growth stages on five weed and two crop (soft wheat, rapeseed) species grown on a gradient of water availability in a greenhouse experiment. For each trait, response curves to water stress were defined, and their parameters were used to quantify interspecies diversity. Generic morphological response patterns were identified across all species and plant stages. Water stress reduced leaf area per unit leaf biomass (SLA, lowering water demand) and increased the ratio of plant height to aboveground biomass for all species (HBR, keeping access to light). In most situations, the ratio of root biomass over total biomass (RBR) increased (improving water uptake). Variability in parameter values of morphological traits was primarily explained by the species, followed by growth stage. Geranium dissectum L. and Abutilon theophrasti Medik. were the most responsive species to water stress, especially at the flowering stage, with strong RBR and HBR increase and slight SLA decrease. Species differences were not related to clade (monocotyledonous/dicotyledonous) nor status (weed/crop), despite a near-significant clade effect on allocation of aboveground biomass, with grass species allocating more biomass to stems (vs leaves), while no general tendency was observed in broadleaved species. These findings provide new insights on comparative ecology of weed and crop species response to water limitation, and more research is expected to cover a wider range of weed and crop species.