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Dehydration tolerance of leaf tissues of six woody angiosperm species
Author(s) -
Martin U.,
Pallardy S. G.,
Bahari Z. A.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
physiologia plantarum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.351
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1399-3054
pISSN - 0031-9317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3054.1987.tb01964.x
Subject(s) - biology , botany , dehydration , growing season , horticulture , salicaceae , woody plant , biochemistry
Electrolyte leakage from leaf discs (measured as an index of dehydration tolerance) increased as water potentials of excised leaves declined for field‐grown saplings of six woody species. Until late in the growing season (mid‐August), leaves of Cornus florida L. exhibited greater leakage than those of other species; however, in August and September leakage in this species was much reduced, indicating apparent hardening in response to mid‐season drought. Leaves of Quercus alba L., Q. rubra L. and Q. velutina Lam. generally exhibited less electrolyte leakage than did those of Acer saccharum Marsh, and Juglans nigra L. over the season. Moreover, leaves of Quercus species showed a reduction in electrolyte leakage late in the season similar to (but less accentuated than) that of C. florida . Saplings of A. saccharum and J. nigra showed little and no drought‐hardening response, respectively. The responses shown by the studied species suggest that dehydration tolerance plays a role in plant distribution and that environmentally induced shifts in this tolerance are a significant phenomenon in natural plant communities.