Abstract
Water and nitrogen are two of the most important factors for plant growth and development. However, little is known about effects of N on water translocation between connected bamboo ramets. We performed experiment connected Indocalamus decorus ramets in adjacent pots with different soil water contents and three N levels. We determined antioxidase activities, concentration of osmotic adjustment products, O2·−, MDA and photosynthetic pigments, and electrolyte leakage rate in paired unit. When N supply to supporting ramets increased, their electrolyte leakage rates and contents of O2·− and MDA significantly increased, while antioxidase activities and contents of osmotic adjustment products and photosynthetic pigments in connected dependent ramets increased markedly as their electrolyte leakage rates and contents of O2·− and MDA decreased greatly. When N addition to dependent ramets increased, antioxidant enzyme activity and contents of osmotic adjustment products and photosynthetic pigments decreased in both ramets, but electrolyte leakage rates and O2·− and MDA contents increased significantly. Therefore, N addition to either supporting or dependent ramets can improve water integration among I. decorus ramets. N addition to supporting ramets promotes water translocation and alleviates water stress of dependent ramets, but N addition to dependent ramets exacerbates drought stress damage to dependent ramets.
Highlights
Water and nitrogen are two of the most important factors for plant growth and development
Little is known about physiological integration of bamboo species in heterogeneous environments[9,10,11,12,13], many studies have been made on herbaceous plants such as Fragaria orientalis[14], Alternanthera philoxeroides[15], Potentilla anserina[16], and Zoysia japonica[17]
Repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) showed that both N addition and the duration of the treatment had significant effects on leaf antioxidase activities (SOD, POD and CAT), leaf MDA and O2·− contents, leaf photosynthetic pigment contents (Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b and Carotenoid), and leaf osmotic-adjustment product contents of ramets; the interaction term for these two effects was significant (Table 1)
Summary
Water and nitrogen are two of the most important factors for plant growth and development. Little is known about effects of N on water translocation between connected bamboo ramets. When N addition to dependent ramets increased, antioxidant enzyme activity and contents of osmotic adjustment products and photosynthetic pigments decreased in both ramets, but electrolyte leakage rates and O2·− and MDA contents increased significantly. Many studies have shown that clonal integration facilitates the establishment of newly produced ramets, improves survival and growth in stressful environments[8], and helps genets occupy open space[5,6,7,8]. The resource contrast and ratios of supporting ramets to dependent ramets impacted the translocation efficiency of the dwarf bamboo Indocalamus decorus, and increasing water contrast and the ratios enhanced water integration strength[9,10]. Few studies have tested the effect of soil N availability on water translocation among connected ramets, especially for bamboo species
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