Abstract
Key messageSessile oak leaves showed a high degree of plasticity to atmospheric and pedospheric conditions.The aim of the present study was to elucidate the significance of current weather conditions for foliar traits of adult sessile oak (Quercus petraea), one of the most valuable forest tree species in Central Europe. For this purpose, structural and functional traits were analysed in fully expanded, sun exposed leaves collected in south-west Germany from five old-growth forest stands, representing the meteorological and pedospheric conditions in the growing region, but differing in aridity during the 12 days before harvest in two consecutive years. Across the forest stands, most foliar traits differed significantly between wet and dry weather conditions before harvest as indicated by partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). These traits included fresh weight/dry weight ratio, leaf hydration, leaf-C content, leaf-C/N ratio, structural N, soluble protein-N, total amino acid-N, cell wall composition, numerous specific amino acids as well as soluble sugar content. Structural biomass, δ13C signature, total N and total C as well as H2O2 contents were not affected by the weather before harvest. These results indicate a high plasticity of the foliar metabolism of drought-tolerant sessile oak to current weather conditions. They also suggest that sessile oak is characterized by a high potential to cope with the growth conditions expected as a consequence of future climate change.
Highlights
Besides beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), oak species (Quercus spec.) are the most common deciduous forest tree species in Central Europe (Thomas and Gausling 2000; Hanewinkel et al 2013)
Antioxidative defence and osmotic stress adjustment by amino acid accumulation in oak leaves were more pronounced on calcareous soil with low water holding capacity compared to acidic soil with higher water holding capacity (Hu et al 2013b, 2015). These results clearly show that functional traits such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity by antioxidants, and partitioning flexibility of N influence the tolerance of oak leaves to drought and increasing temperature as well as the plasticity of N metabolism
Weather conditions before harvest strongly affected the foliar traits analysed in the present study
Summary
Besides beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), oak species (Quercus spec.) are the most common deciduous forest tree species in Central Europe (Thomas and Gausling 2000; Hanewinkel et al 2013). Oaks are considered to be more tolerant to water shortage than most other deciduous trees in Central Europe, low water availability can limit their growth and development (Bruschi 2010; Jensen and Hansen 2010). Different oak species vary considerably in susceptibility to water shortage. In a macrocosm experiment under controlled conditions, Hu et al (2013a, b, 2015) investigated stress responses to drought and increasing temperature in leaves of Quercus robur L., Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl., and Quercus pubescens Willd., three widely distributed oak species in Central Europe.
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