Seasonal changes in tissue elasticity and water transport efficiency in three co-occurring Mediterranean shrubs under natural long-term CO2 enrichment

Abstract

Seasonal changes in hydraulic properties and tissue elasticity were evaluated in Erica arborea L., Myrtus communis L. and Juniperus communis L., three Mediterranean shrubs that differ in adaptations to drought. These parameters were analysed over 12 months under field conditions, by comparing plants grown in the proximity of a natural CO₂ spring (about 700 μmol mol^–1 atmospheric CO₂ concentration, [CO₂]) with plants in ambient conditions. Plants at the CO₂-spring site have been growing for generations at elevated [CO₂]. At both sites, stem hydraulic and structural properties followed the prevailing climatic constraints. However, these shrub species co-occurring in the same environment differed in their capacity to tolerate water deficits, in xylem efficiency, and in strategies for regulating water movement between plant compartments. Either an increase or a decrease in tissue elasticity was effective in promoting resistance to drought stress, depending on the species. Long-term elevated [CO₂] influenced all the studied parameters. Species-dependent differences existed in hydraulic architecture between the CO₂-spring plants and control plants of E. arborea and M. communis, while J. communis plants rarely showed differences between sites. Less distinct differences between sites were observed for wood structure. The three species showed somewhat lower tissue elasticity under elevated [CO₂], in particular during stress periods. The effects of elevated [CO₂] on stem hydraulic pathway and structure and shoot elastic properties persist in the long term, but differ in absolute values and sign among the studied species and with the seasonal course, and thus might alter competitive relations between these shrubs.