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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Deciphering of the morpho-physiological traits of two native grasses from Argentina with contrasting drought resistance strategies

Ana M. Cenzano https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8271-6720 A * , Idris Arslan B , Ana Furlan C , M. Celeste Varela D and Mariana Reginato D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Laboratorio de Ecofisiología y Bioquímica Vegetal, Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales (IPEEC)- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Boulevard Brown 2915, Puerto Madryn, Chubut 9120, Argentina.

B Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University, Faculty of Science, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Incivez, Zonguldak 67100, Turkey. Email: idris.arslan@beun.edu.tr

C Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas (INIAB-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físico-Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Ruta 36, Km 601, Río Cuarto, Córdoba 5800, Argentina. Email: afurlan@exa.unrc.edu.ar

D Grupo de Fisiología Vegetal Interacción Ambiente, Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físico-Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (UNRC), Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas (INIAB-CONICET), Ruta 36, Km 601, Río Cuarto, Córdoba 5800, Argentina. Email: varela.mceleste@gmail.com, mreginato@exa.unrc.edu.ar

* Correspondence to: cenzano@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

Handling Editor: James Camac

Australian Journal of Botany 72, BT23103 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT23103
Submitted: 23 November 2023  Accepted: 4 May 2024  Published: 27 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Semiarid environments, such as the Patagonian shrublands, are characterised by having shrubby patches surrounded by grasses with different ecophysiological strategies to tolerate long dry periods.

Aims

We hypothesised that coexisting grasses of the Patagonian rangeland, already classified as drought-escaping or drought-tolerant, have different traits according to the season and the annual rainfall events.

Methods

Two dominant native grasses were selected: Pappostipa speciosa (evergreen) and Poa ligularis (deciduous). Samples were collected in the four seasons for the term of 1 year. Rainfall events and soil water content of each season were determined. Spring was the wettest season and autumn the driest. Physiological (relative water content, pigments, hormones), biochemical (polyphenols, antioxidant activity) and morphological traits were measured in the four seasons.

Key results

P. speciosa was characterised by keeping evergreen leaves with high production of polyphenols as secondary metabolites with high antioxidant capacity during the dry autumn and winter seasons. P. ligularis was characterised by high contents of gibberellin (GA1), auxin (IAA), total phenols, total flavonoids and tartaric acid esters, and high antioxidant capacity in roots during the autumn dry season. In addition, P. ligularis leaves had higher content of carotenoids and polyphenols than P. speciosa during the summer dry season.

Conclusions

The major adaptive strategy to tolerate dry periods is the high activity of the secondary metabolism, mainly in leaves in P. speciosa (a drought-tolerant grass) and in roots in P. ligularis (a drought-escaping grass).

Implications

Rainfall variations during a year can affect the phenological growth stages and the metabolism of two native grasses from Argentina characterised by different drought resistance mechanisms.

Keywords: carotenoids, escape, flavonoids, Pappostipa speciosa, phytohormones, Poa ligularis, polyphenols, tolerance.

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