Are plant growth and photosynthesis limited by pre-drought following rewatering in grass?

Although the relationship between grassland productivity and soil water status has been extensively researched, the responses of plant growth and photosynthetic physiological processes to long-term drought and rewatering are not fully understood. Here, the perennial grass (Leymus chinensis), predomi...

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Veröffentlicht in:Journal of experimental botany. - 1985. - 60(2009), 13 vom: 10., Seite 3737-49
1. Verfasser: Xu, Zhenzhu (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Zhou, Guangsheng, Shimizu, Hideyuki
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2009
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:Journal of experimental botany
Schlagworte:Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Water 059QF0KO0R
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Although the relationship between grassland productivity and soil water status has been extensively researched, the responses of plant growth and photosynthetic physiological processes to long-term drought and rewatering are not fully understood. Here, the perennial grass (Leymus chinensis), predominantly distributed in the Euro-Asia steppe, was used as an experimental plant for an irrigation manipulation experiment involving five soil moisture levels [75-80, 60-75, 50-60, 35-50, and 25-35% of soil relative water content (SRWC), i.e. the ratio between present soil moisture and field capacity] to examine the effects of soil drought and rewatering on plant biomass, relative growth rate (RGR), and photosynthetic potential. The recovery of plant biomass following rewatering was lower for the plants that had experienced previous drought compared with the controls; the extent of recovery was proportional to the intensity of soil drought. However, the plant RGR, leaf photosynthesis, and light use potential were markedly stimulated by the previous drought, depending on drought intensity, whereas stomatal conductance (g(s)) achieved only partial recovery. The results indicated that g(s) may be responsible for regulating actual photosynthetic efficiency. It is assumed that the new plant growth and photosynthetic potential enhanced by pre-drought following rewatering may try to overcompensate the great loss of the plant's net primary production due to the pre-drought effect. The present results highlight the episodic effects of drought on grass growth and photosynthesis. This study will assist in understanding how degraded ecosystems can potentially cope with climate change
Beschreibung:Date Completed 03.12.2009
Date Revised 11.05.2024
published: Print-Electronic
Citation Status MEDLINE
ISSN:1460-2431
DOI:10.1093/jxb/erp216