Variation in growth responses to availability of water in Cistus albidus populations from different habitats
Olga M. Grant A C D , Lynton D. Incoll A and Tom McNeilly BA School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.
B School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK.
C Current address: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia Molecular, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Apartado 127, 2781-901 Oeiras, Portugal.
D Corresponding author. Email: grant@itqb.unl.pt
Functional Plant Biology 32(9) 817-829 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP05020
Submitted: 22 January 2005 Accepted: 6 May 2005 Published: 26 August 2005
Abstract
Seeds of Cistus albidus L. plants from three populations that are exposed to differing temperature and precipitation in Almería province of south-east Spain, were collected and grown together in a factorial experiment with two irrigation treatments. The aim was to determine whether populations from different habitats differed when exposed to common conditions, or differed in the plasticity of their response to availability of water. Significant differences in growth of branches and in leaf dimensions were found between treatments, indicating phenotypic plasticity. There was also significant variation between populations in growth of branches and leaf dimensions, with a population from a location that is intermediate in terms of precipitation and temperature showing the greatest growth of branches and production of leaves under the well-watered treatment. This population is from a semi-arid climate, where precipitation is unpredictable, and selection may have occurred to favour rapid growth when water is available. This population had the narrowest leaves under both treatments, and the lowest leaf mass in the well-watered treatment. It also maintained the same mass per leaf under the two treatments, whereas the others showed an increased mass of leaves with increased availability of water. Thus, populations differed both in their manner of allocating resources and their response to availability of water.
Keywords: ecophysiology, leaf dimensions, Mediterranean vegetation, plasticity, selection, stomatal conductance.
Acknowledgments
OMG is grateful to K Hatten, A Atherton and L Wolstenholme at Ness Botanic Gardens (University of Liverpool) for technical assistance in setting up this experiment. OMG thanks the University of Leeds for the award of a postgraduate scholarship, and MM Chaves and two anonymous reviewers for comments on a manuscript of this paper. D Appleyard of the Graphics Unit of the School of Geography, University of Leeds, prepared the map of Almería.
Alados CL,
Navarro T,
Cabezudo B,
Emlen JM, Freeman C
(1997) Developmental instability in gynodioecious Teucrium lusitanicum.
Evolutionary Ecology 12, 21–34.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Annicchiarico P,
Pecetti L, Damania AB
(1995) Relationships between phenotypic variation and climatic factors at collecting sites in durum wheat landraces. Hereditas 122, 163–167.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Araus JL
(2004) The problem of sustainable water use in the Mediterranean and research requirements for agriculture. Annals of Applied Biology 144, 259–272.
Aronson J,
Kigel J,
Shmida A, Klein J
(1992) Adaptive phenology of desert and Mediterranean populations of annual plants grown with and without water stress. Oecologia 89, 17–26.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Balaguer L,
Martínez-Ferri E,
Valladares F,
Pérez-Corona ME,
Baquedano FJ,
Castillo FJ, Manrique E
(2001) Population divergence in the plasticity of the response of Quercus coccifera to the light environment. Functional Ecology 15, 124–135.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Becker, WA (1967).
Björkman O, Powles SB
(1984) Inhibition of photosynthetic reactions under water stress: interaction with light level. Planta 161, 490–504.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Chapin FS III,
Autumn K, Pugnaire F
(1993) Evolution of suites of traits in response to environmental stress. American Naturalist 142, S78–S92.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Chaves MM
(1991) Effects of water deficits on carbon assimilation. Journal of Experimental Botany 234, 1–16.
Correia OA,
Martins AC, Catarino FM
(1992) Comparative phenology and seasonal foliar nitrogen variation in Mediterranean species of Portugal. Ecologia Mediterranea 18, 7–18.
Costa e Silva F,
Shvaleva A,
Maroco JP,
Almeida MH,
Chaves MM, Pereira JS
(2004) Responses to water stress in two Eucalyptus globulus clones differing in drought tolerance. Tree Physiology 24, 1165–1172.
| PubMed |
Ehleringer, JR ,
and
Mooney, HA (1983). Productivity of desert and Mediterranean-climate plants. In ‘Encyclopedia of plant physiology, new series’. pp. 205–231. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)
Ehrman T, Cocks PS
(1996) Reproductive patterns in annual legume species on an aridity gradient. Vegetatio 122, 47–59.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Einhorn KS,
Rosenqvist E, Leverenz JW
(2004) Photoinhibition in seedlings of Fraxinus and Fagus under natural light conditions: implications for forest regeneration? Oecologia 140, 241–251.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Falconer, DS ,
and
Mackay, TFC (1996).
Givnish, T (1979). On the adaptive significance of leaf form. In ‘Topics in plant population biology’. pp. 375–407. (Columbia University Press: New York, NY)
Grant OM, Incoll LD
(2005) Photochemical efficiency is an important component of ecophysiological variation of Cistus albidus between habitats in south-east Spain. Functional Plant Biology 32, 107–115.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Havaux M
(1992) Stress tolerance of photosystem II in vivo. Plant Physiology 100, 424–432.
Jones, HG (1987). Breeding for stomatal characters. In ‘Stomatal function’. pp. 431–443. (Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA)
Jones, HG (1992).
Lauteri M,
Scartazza A,
Guido MC, Brugnoli E
(1997) Genetic variation in photosynthetic capacity, carbon isotope discrimination and mesophyll conductance in provenances of Castanea sativa adapted to different environments. Functional Ecology 11, 675–683.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Loi A,
Porqueddu C,
Veronesi F, Cocks PS
(1995) Distribution, diversity and potential agronomic value of Medicago polymorpha in Sardinia. Journal of Agricultural Science 124, 419–426.
Margaris, NS (1981). Adaptive strategies in plants dominating Mediterranean-type ecosystems. In ‘Ecosystems of the world. 11: Mediterranean-type shrublands’. pp. 309–315. (Elsevier: Amsterdam)
Mooney, HA (1981). Primary production in Mediterranean-climate regions. In ‘Ecosystems of the world. 11: Mediterranean-type shrublands’. pp. 249–255. (Elsevier: Amsterdam)
Mooney, HA (1987). The impact of environmental stress on plant performance in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems: differing levels of analysis. In ‘Plant response to stress’. pp. 661–668. (Springer Verlag: Berlin)
Nahal, I (1981). The Mediterranean climate from a biological viewpoint. In ‘Ecosystems of the world 11: Mediterranean-type shrublands’. pp. 63–86. (Elsevier: Amsterdam)
Nogués S, Alegre L
(2002) An increase in water deficit has no impact on the photosynthetic capacity of field-grown Mediterranean plants. Functional Plant Biology 29, 621–630.
Núñez-Olivera E,
Màrtínez-Abaigar J, Escudero JC
(1996) Adaptability of leaves of Cistus ladanifer to widely varying environmental conditions. Functional Ecology 10, 636–646.
Oleksyn J,
Modrzynski J,
Tjoelker MG,
Zykowiak R,
Reich PB, Karolewski P
(1998) Growth and physiology of Picea abies populations from elevational transects: common garden evidence for altitudinal ecotypes and cold adaptation. Functional Ecology 12, 573–590.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Peuke AD,
Schraml C,
Hartung W, Rennenberg H
(2002) Identification of drought-sensitive beech ecotypes by physiological parameters. New Phytologist 154, 373–387.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Puigdefábregas, J ,
Cueto, M ,
Domingo, F ,
Gutiérrrez, L ,
Sánchez, G ,
and
Solé, A (1998). Rambla Honda, Tabernas, Almería, Spain. In ‘Atlas of Mediterranean environments in Europe: the desertification context’. pp. 110–112. (Wiley: Chichester, UK)
Quarrie, SA (1983). Genetic differences in abscisic acid physiology and their potential uses in agriculture. In ‘Abscisic acid’. pp. 365–419. (Praeger: New York, NY)
Rodríguez, LG ,
Nogueira, LC ,
García, JMM ,
and
Nogueira, HC (1998).
Schmitt J
(1997) Is photomorphogenic shade avoidance adaptive? Perspectives from population biology. Plant, Cell and Environment 20, 826–830.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Somersalo S,
Mäkelä P,
Rajala A,
Nevo E, Peltonen-Sainio P
(1998) Morpho-physiological traits characterizing environmental adaptation of Avena barbata.
Euphytica 99, 213–220.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sultan SE
(1987) Evolutionary implications of phenotypic plasticity in plants. Evolutionary Biology 21, 127–178.
Sultan SE
(2001) Phenotypic plasticity for fitness components in Polygonum species of contrasting ecological breadth. Ecology 82, 328–343.
Valladares F,
Balaguer L,
Martinez-Ferri E,
Perez-Corona E, Manrique E
(2002) Plasticity, instability and canalization: is the phenotypic variation in seedlings of sclerophyll oaks consistent with the environmental unpredictability of Mediterranean ecosystems? New Phytologist 156, 457–467.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Watson PJ
(1969) Evolution in closely adjacent plant populations. VI. An entomophilous species, Potentilla erecta, in two contrasting habitats. Heredity 24, 407–422.
Werner C,
Correia O, Beyschlag W
(1999) Two different strategies of Mediterranean macchia plants to avoid photoinhibitory damage by excessive radiation levels during summer drought. Acta Oecologia 20, 15–23.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Werner C,
Correia O, Beyschlag W
(2002) Characteristic patterns of chronic and dynamic photoinhibition of different functional groups in a Mediterranean ecosystem. Functional Plant Biology 29, 999–1011.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zhang X,
Wu N, Li C
(2005) Physiological and growth responses of Populus davidiana ecotypes to different soil water contents. Journal of Arid Environments 60, 567–579.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
