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Seedlings of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Amalia were grown in a growth chamber under a photoperiod of 16 h light at 25 degrees C and 8 h dark at 20 degrees C. Five different treatments were applied to 30-day-old plants: Control treatment (plants maintained in the normal growth conditions throughout the experimental time), heat acclimation (plants exposed to 35 degrees C for 4 h in dark for 3 days), dark treatment (plants exposed to 25 degrees C for 4 h in dark for 3 days), heat acclimation plus heat shock (plants that previously received the heat acclimation treatment were exposed to 45 degrees C air temperature for 3 h in the light) and dark treatment plus heat shock (plants that previously received the dark treatment were exposed to 45 degrees C air temperature for 3 h in the light). Only the heat acclimation treatment increased the thermotolerance of the photosynthesis apparatus when the heat shock (45 degrees C) was imposed. In these plants, the CO(2) assimilation rate was not affected by heat shock and there was a slight and non-significant reduction in maximum carboxylation velocity of Rubisco (V(cmax)) and maximum electron transport rate contributing to Rubisco regeneration (J(max)). However, the plants exposed to dark treatment plus heat shock showed a significant reduction in the CO(2) assimilation rate and also in the values of V(cmax) and J(max). Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements showed increased thermotolerance in heat-acclimated plants. The values of maximum chlorophyll fluorescence (F(m)) were not modified by heat shock in these plants, while in the dark-treated plants that received the heat shock, the F(m) values were reduced, which provoked a significant reduction in the efficiency of photosystem II. A slight rise in the total superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was found in the plants that had been subjected to both heat acclimation and heat shock, and this SOD activity was significantly higher than that found in the plants subjected to dark treatment plus heat shock. The activity of Fe-SOD isoenzymes was most enhanced in heat-acclimated plants but was unaltered in the plants that received the dark treatment. Total CuZn-SOD activity was reduced in all treatments. Darkness had an inhibitory effect on the Mn-SOD isoenzyme activity, which was compensated by the effect of a rise in air temperature to 35 degrees C. These results show that the heat tolerance of tomatoplants may be increased by the previous imposition of a moderately high temperature and could be related with the thermal stability in the photochemical reactions and a readjustment of V(cmax) and J(max). Some isoenzymes, such as the Fe-SODs, may also play a role in the development of heat-shock tolerance through heat acclimation. In fact, the pattern found for these isoenzymes in heat-acclimated Amalia plants was similar to that previously described in other heat-tolerant tomato genotypes.

This study tests the hypothesis that diffusional limitation of photosynthesis, rather than light, determines the distribution of photosynthetic capacity in olive leaves under drought conditions. The crowns of four olive trees growing in an orchard were divided into two sectors: one sector absorbed most of the radiation early in the morning (MS) while the other absorbed most in the afternoon (AS). When the peak of radiation absorption was higher in MS, air vapour pressure deficit (VPD) was not high enough to provoke stomatal closure. In contrast, peak radiation absorption in AS coincided with the daily peak in VPD. In addition, two soil water treatments were evaluated: irrigated trees (I) and non-irrigated trees (nI). The seasonal evolution of leaf water potential, leaf gas exchange and photosynthetic capacity were measured throughout the tree crowns in spring and summer. Results showed that stomatal conductance was reduced in nI trees in summer as a consequence of soil water stress, which limited their net assimilation rate. Olive leaves displayed isohydric behaviour and no important differences in the diurnal course of leaf water potentials among treatments and sectors were found. Seasonal diffusional limitation of photosynthesis was mainly increased in nI trees, especially as a result of stomatal limitation, although mesophyll conductance (g(m)) was found to decrease in summer in both treatments and sectors. A positive relationship between leaf nitrogen content with both leaf photosynthetic capacity and the daily integrated quantum flux density was found in spring, but not in summer. The relationship between photosynthetic capacity and g(m) was curvilinear. Leaf temperature also affected to g(m) with an optimum temperature at 29 degrees C. AS showed larger biochemical limitation than MS in August in both treatments. All these suggest that both diffusional limitation and the effect of leaf temperature could be involved in the seasonal reduction of photosynthetic capacity of olive leaves. This work highlights the need for models of plant growth and ecosystem function to incorporate new parameters affecting the distribution of photosynthetic capacity in canopies.

Climate change will increase heat and drought stress in many dryland areas, which could reduce soil nutrient availability for plants and aggravate nutrient limitation of primary productivity. Any negative impacts of climate change on foliar nutrient contents would be expected to negatively affect the photosynthetic capacity, water use efficiency and overall fitness of dryland vegetation.We conducted a 4‐year manipulative experiment using open top chambers and rainout shelters to assess the impacts of warming (~2°C, W), rainfall reduction (~30%, RR) and their combination (W + RR) on the nutrient status and ecophysiological performance of six native shrub species of contrasting phylogeny in a semi‐arid ecosystem. Leaf nutrient status and gas exchange were assessed yearly, whereas biomass production and survival were measured at the end of the study.Warming (W and W + RR) advanced shoot growth phenology and reduced foliar macro‐ (N, P, K) and micronutrient (Cu, Fe, Zn) concentrations (by 8%–18% and 14%–56% respectively), net photosynthetic rate (32%), above‐ground biomass production (28%–39%) and survival (23%–46%). Decreased photosynthesis and growth in W and W + RR plants were primarily linked to enhanced nutritional constraints on carbon fixation. Poor leaf nutrient status in W and W + RR plants partly decoupled carbon assimilation from water flux and led to drastic reductions in water use efficiency (WUEi; ~41%) across species. The RR treatment moderately decreased foliar macro‐ and micronutrients (6%–17%, except for Zn) and biomass production (22%). The interactive impacts of warming and rainfall reduction (W + RR treatment) on plant performance were generally smaller than expected from additive single‐factor effects.Synthesis. Large decreases in plant nutrient pool size and productivity combined with increased mortality during hotter droughts will reduce vegetation cover and nutrient retention capacity, thereby disrupting biogeochemical processes and accelerating dryland degradation with impending climate change. Increased macro‐ and micronutrient co‐limitation of photosynthesis with forecasted climate change conditions may offset any gains in WUEi and productivity derived from anthropogenic CO2 elevation, thereby increasing dryland vegetation vulnerability to drought stress in a warmer and drier climate. The generalized reduction in leaf nutrient contents with warming compromises plant nutritional quality for herbivores, with potential cascading negative effects across trophic levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Warmer and drier conditions associated with ongoing climate change will increase abiotic stress for plants and mycorrhizal fungi in drylands world‐wide, thereby potentially reducing vegetation cover and productivity and increasing the risk of land degradation and desertification. Rhizosphere–microbial interactions and feedbacks are critical processes that could either mitigate or aggravate the vulnerability of dryland vegetation to forecasted climate change. We conducted a 4‐year manipulative study in a semi‐arid shrubland in the Iberian Peninsula to assess the effects of warming (c. 2.5°C; W), rainfall reduction (c. 30%; RR) and their combination (W+RR) on the performance of native shrubs (Helianthemum squamatum) and their associated mycorrhizal fungi. Warming (W and W+RR) decreased the net photosynthetic rates of H. squamatum shrubs by c. 31% despite concurrent increases in stomatal conductance (c. 33%), leading to sharp decreases (c. 50%) in water use efficiency. Warming also advanced growth phenology, decreased leaf nitrogen and phosphorus contents per unit area, reduced shoot biomass production by c. 36% and decreased survival during a dry year in both W and W+RR plants. Plants under RR showed more moderate decreases (c. 10%–20%) in photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and shoot growth. Warming, RR and W+RR altered ectomycorrhizal fungal (EMF) community structure and drastically reduced the relative abundance of EMF sequences obtained by high‐throughput sequencing, a response associated with decreases in the leaf nitrogen, phosphorus and dry matter contents of their host plants. In contrast to EMF, the community structure and relative sequence abundances of other non‐mycorrhizal fungal guilds were not significantly affected by the climate manipulation treatments. Synthesis. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of both native plants and their symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi to climate warming and drying in semi‐arid shrublands, and point to the importance of a deeper understanding of plant–soil feedbacks to predict dryland vegetation responses to forecasted aridification. The interdependent responses of plants and ectomycorrhizal fungi to warming and rainfall reduction may lead to a detrimental feedback loop on vegetation productivity and nutrient pool size, which could amplify the adverse impacts of forecasted climate change on ecosystem functioning in EMF‐dominated drylands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas warming enhances plant nutrient status and photosynthesis in most terrestrial ecosystems, dryland vegetation is vulnerable to the likely increases in evapotranspiration and reductions in soil moisture caused by elevated temperatures. Any warming-induced declines in plant primary production and cover in drylands would increase erosion, land degradation, and desertification. We conducted a four-year manipulative experiment in a semi-arid Mediterranean ecosystem to evaluate the impacts of a ~2°C warming on the photosynthesis, transpiration, leaf nutrient status, chlorophyll content, isotopic composition, biomass growth, and postsummer survival of the native shrub Helianthemum squamatum. We predicted that warmed plants would show reduced photosynthetic activity and growth, primarily due to the greater stomatal limitation imposed by faster and more severe soil drying under warming. On average, warming reduced net photosynthetic rates by 36% across the study period. Despite this strong response, warming did not affect stomatal conductance and transpiration. The reduction of peak photosynthetic rates with warming was more pronounced in a drought year than in years with near-average rainfall (75% and 25-40% reductions relative to controls, respectively), with no indications of photosynthetic acclimation to warming through time. Warmed plants had lower leaf N and P contents, δ13C, and sparser and smaller leaves than control plants. Warming reduced shoot dry mass production by 31%. However, warmed plants were able to cope with large reductions in net photosynthesis, leaf area, and shoot biomass production without changes in postsummer survival rates. Our findings highlight the key role of nonstomatal factors (biochemical and/or nutritional) in reducing net carbon assimilation rates and growth under warming, which has important implications for projections of plant carbon balance under the warmer and drier climatic scenario predicted for drylands worldwide. Projected climate warming over the coming decades could reduce net primary production by about one-third in semi-arid gypsum shrublands dominated by H. squamatum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silvicultural thinning usually improves the water status of remaining trees in water-limited forests. We evaluated the usefulness of a dual stable isotope approach ( δC, δO) for comparing the physiological performance of remaining trees between forest stands subjected to two different thinning intensities (moderate versus heavy) in a 60-year-old Pinus halepensis Mill. plantation in semiarid southeastern Spain. We measured bulk leaf δC and δO, foliar elemental concentrations, stem water content, stem water δO ( δO), tree ring widths and leaf gas exchange rates to assess the influence of forest stand density on tree performance. Remaining trees in low-density stands (heavily thinned) showed lower leaf δO, and higher stomatal conductance ( g), photosynthetic rate and radial growth than those in moderate-density stands (moderately thinned). By contrast, leaf δC, intrinsic water-use efficiency, foliar elemental concentrations and δO were unaffected by stand density. Lower foliar δO in heavily thinned stands reflected higher g of remaining trees due to decreased inter-tree competition for water, whereas higher photosynthetic rate was largely attributable to reduced stomatal limitation to CO uptake. The dual isotope approach provided insight into the early (12 months) effects of stand density manipulation on the physiological performance of remaining trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The experiment was carried out in a research field near Murcia, Spain, over a 3-week period between September 26 and October 16, 2000. Sixteen trees were used in the experiment, eight of which were placed under a rectangular shading net, while the other eight were maintained in the open air. Trees were irrigated once per day and, after October 5th, water was witheld from eight trees (four shaded and four unprotected for 5 days). The leaf stomatal conductance and the photosynthesis rates were higher in the shaded trees than in the exposed plants, probably because the leaf water potential was lower in the unshaded plants. This higher leaf conductance partially compensated for the effect of low radiation on transpiration, and the reduction of daily sap flow registered in shaded trees was only around 10–20%. The net also affected trunk diameter changes, with the shaded trees showing lower values of maximum daily shrinkage. Soil water deficit and high radiation had a similar effect on plant water parameters, lowering leaf water potential, leaf stomatal conductance, and the photosynthesis rate. The effects of both conditions were accumulative and so the exposed water-stressed plants showed the lowest values of total hydraulic resistance and water use efficiency, while the shaded well-irrigated trees registered the highest values for both parameters. For this reason, we think that net shading could be extended to apricot culture in many areas in which irrigation water is scarce and insolation is high. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Callistemon is an Australian species used as ornamental plant in Mediterranean regions. The objective of this research was to analyse the ability of Callistemon to overcome water deficit in terms of adjusting its physiology and morphology. Potted Callistemon laevis Anon plants were grown in controlled environment and subjected to drought stress by reducing irrigation water by 40% compared to the control (irrigated to container capacity). The drought stress produced the smallest plants throughout the experiment. After three months of drought, the leaf area, number of leaves and root volume decreased, while root/shoot ratio and root density increased. The higher root hydraulic resistance in stressed plants caused decreases in leaf and stem water potentials resulting in lower stomatal conductance and indicating that water flow through the roots is a factor that strongly influences shoot water relations. The water stress affected transpiration (63% reduction compared with the control). The consistent decrease in g s suggested an adaptative efficient stomatal control of transpiration by this species, resulting in a higher intrinsic water use efficiency (P n /g s ) in drought conditions, increasing as the experimental time progressed. This was accompanied by an improvement in water use efficiency of production to maintain the leaf water status. In addition, water stress induced an active osmotic adjustment and led to decreases in leaf tissue elasticity in order to maintain turgor. Therefore, the water deficit produced changes in plant water relations, gas exchange and growth in an adaptation process which could promote the faster establishment of this species in gardens or landscaping projects in Mediterranean conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]