Phenotypic plasticity of stomatal and photosynthetic features of four Picea species in two contrasting common gardens.

Ming Hao Wang,Ai Ping Zhang,Shan Sun,Jing Ru Wang,Chang Ming Zhao,Xiao Wei Zhang

doi:10.1093/aobpla/plz034

Ming Hao Wang, Ai Ping Zhang + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plz034

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Journal: AoB PLANTS	Publication Date: Jun 8, 2019
Citations: 9	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Lanzhou University, Gansu Agricultural University

Abstract

Global climate change is expected to affect mountain ecosystems significantly. Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of any genotype to produce a variety of phenotypes under different environmental conditions, is critical in determining the ability of species to acclimate to current climatic changes. Here, to simulate the impact of climate change, we compared the physiology of species of the genus Picea from different provenances and climatic conditions and quantified their phenotypic plasticity index (PPI) in two contrasting common gardens (dry vs. wet), and then considered phenotypic plastic effects on their future adaptation. The mean PPI of the photosynthetic features studied was higher than that of the stomatal features. Species grown in the arid and humid common gardens were differentiated: the stomatal length (SL) and width (SW) on the adaxial surface, the transpiration rate (Tr) and leaf mass per area (LMA) were more highly correlated with rainfall than other traits. There were no significant relationships between the observed plasticity and the species’ original habitat, except in P. crassifolia (from an arid habitat) and P. asperata (from a humid habitat). Picea crassifolia exhibited enhanced instantaneous efficiency of water use (PPI = 0.52) and the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration (PPI = 0.10) remained constant; this species was, therefore, considered to the one best able to acclimate when faced with the effects of climate change. The other three species exhibited reduced physiological activity when exposed to water limitation. These findings indicate how climate change affects the potential roles of plasticity in determining plant physiology, and provide a basis for future reforestation efforts in China.

Highlights

The global climate will change significantly over the coming century, with overall increases in temperature and a greater frequency of drought events in many regions (Gitay et al 2002)
On the adaxial surface, P. asperata had the highest stomatal pore length (SL), stomatal pore width (SW), stomatal area (S) and stomatal pore index (SI); P. crassifolia exhibited the highest adaxial stomatal density (SD) and the lowest stomatal length (SL) and S; and P. wilsonii had the lowest number of stomatal rows (N) among the four species when grown in WCG (Table 1)
P. meyeri exhibited the highest values of all stomatal traits except for N and SL, P. wilsonii had the lowest SD and N, and P. crassifolia had the lowest SL and S among the four species when grown in WCG (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

The global climate will change significantly over the coming century, with overall increases in temperature and a greater frequency of drought events in many regions (Gitay et al 2002). This will affect the exchange of water, carbon, nutrients, and energy between plants and the environment, in mountain ecosystems (IPCC 2007; Grossiord et al 2017a). Received: February 22, 2019; Editorial decision: June 10, 2019; Accepted: June 28, 2019 It is valuable to quantify a species’ ability to rapidly adjust functional traits, both morphological and physiological (Grulke 2010; Nicotra et al 2010; Frank et al 2017)

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