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Soil water availability threshold indicator was determined by using plant physiological responses under drought conditions
- Source :
- Ecological Indicators. 118:106740
- Publication Year :
- 2020
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2020.
-
Abstract
- Soil water shortage is a critical limiting factor that threaten the growth of vegetation and their sustainability in semi-arid areas. Grasses directly respond to the soil water availability (SWA), and the soil water shortage degree can be studied through plant physiological response thresholds under soil drought stress. In this study, the lower-and-optimal limitation of SWA was evaluated with pots along the soil water gradient by quantifying plant gas exchange parameters. These parameters showed a strong cubic relationship with the relative soil water content (RWC) in four forage species. The lower limitation of RWC was obtained for Onobrychis viciifolia (4.0%–20.2%), followed by Astragalus adsurgens (15.5%–25.5%), Elymus nutans (16.1%–27.2%), and Lolium multiflorum (24.6%–35.8%). The average RWC was of 74.83%, and the water saturation point of water use efficiency (WSPWUE) showed a similar critical scope in the four species: Onobrychis viciifolia (71.2%–82.8%), Astragalus adsurgens (72.1%–84.2%), Elymus nutans (79.3%–85.1%), and Lolium multiflorum (76.7%–85.6%). The highest productivity with the highest availability of water (HPHAW) for Onobrychis viciifolia, Astragalus adsurgens, Elymus nutans and Lolium multiflorum was of 71.2%–82.8%, 72.1%–84.2%, 79.3%–85.1% and 76.7%–85.6%, respectively. The lower limitation of RWC, the maximum water use efficiency (WUEmax) and HPHAW in legumes were lower than those values obtained in gramineae, suggesting that legumes were more susceptible to soil drought stress. We concluded that plant gas exchange parameters acted as indicators for SWA under drought conditions, and represented a valuable tool for identifying SWA threshold response in environmental changes.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
Limiting factor
Ecology
Onobrychis viciifolia
General Decision Sciences
Forage
Lolium multiflorum
Vegetation
010501 environmental sciences
Biology
biology.organism_classification
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
Agronomy
Soil water
Poaceae
Water-use efficiency
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1470160X
- Volume :
- 118
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Ecological Indicators
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........d15d1c853d9b42d13e8c5671327365f5