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Correlated evolution of morphology, gas exchange, growth rates and hydraulics as a response to precipitation and temperature regimes in oaks (Quercus)
- Source :
- New Phytologist. 227:794-809
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2019.
-
Abstract
- It is hypothesised that tree distributions in Europe are largely limited by their ability to cope with the summer drought imposed by the Mediterranean climate in the southern areas and by their competitive potential in central regions with more mesic conditions. We investigated the extent to which leaf and plant morphology, gas exchange, leaf and stem hydraulics and growth rates have evolved in a coordinated way in oaks (Quercus) as a result of adaptation to contrasting environmental conditions in this region. We implemented an experiment in which seedlings of 12 European/North African oaks were grown under two watering treatments, a well-watered treatment and a drought treatment in which plants were subjected to three cycles of drought. Consistent with our hypothesis, species from drier summers had traits conferring more tolerance to drought such as small sclerophyllous leaves and lower percent loss of hydraulic conductivity. However, these species did not have lower growth rates as expected by a trade-off with drought tolerance. Overall, our results revealed that climate is an important driver of functional strategies in oaks and that traits have evolved along two coordinated functional axes to adapt to different precipitation and temperature regimes.
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Mediterranean climate
Physiology
Hydraulics
Sclerophyll
Drought tolerance
Plant Science
Biology
01 natural sciences
law.invention
Quercus
03 medical and health sciences
Hydraulic conductivity
law
Precipitation
Temperature
Water
Droughts
Europe
Plant Leaves
030104 developmental biology
Agronomy
Plant morphology
Adaptation
010606 plant biology & botany
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 14698137 and 0028646X
- Volume :
- 227
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- New Phytologist
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....983df4bd2614290522c5632055ee83da