Desiccation tolerance implies costs to productivity but allows survival under extreme drought conditions in Velloziaceae species in campos rupestres

Autor(es)

Teodoro, Grazielle Sales ^{[1, 2]} ; Costa, Patricia de Britto ^{[2, 3]} ; Brum, Mauro ^[4] ; Signori-Mueller, Caroline ^[2] ; Alcantara, Suzana ^[5] ; Dawson, Todd E. ^[6] ; West, Adam G. ^[7] ; Lambers, Hans ; Oliveira, Rafael S. ^[8]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Fed Univ Para, Inst Ciencias Biol, BR-66075110 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[2] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Programa Pos Grad Biol Vegetal, POB 6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Western Australia, Sch Biol Sci, Perth, WA 6009 - Australia

^[4] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Programa Pos Grad Ecol, POB 6109, Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Santa Catarina, Ctr Ciencias Biol, Dept Bot, Campus Univ, BR-88040900 Florianopolis, SC - Brazil

^[6] Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Integrat Biol, 4006 Valley Life Sci Bldg, Berkeley, CA 94720 - USA

^[7] Univ Cape Town, Dept Biol Sci, ZA-7701 Rondebosch - South Africa

^[8] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Vegetal, Caixa Postal 6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: ENVIRONMENTAL AND EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY; v. 189, SEP 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Desiccation tolerance (DT) is the ability of plants to tolerate low leaf water content from which they can recover when water becomes available. DT species mostly occur in seasonally-dry environments, tropical rocky outcrops such as the campos rupestres. Velloziaceae, a prominent family in the campos rupestres, comprises both DT and non-DT species. We tested if DT Vellozia nivea was associated with low productivity under mild drought conditions and survival under extreme drought. We measured traits related to drought resistance (turgor loss point - psi TLP), plant functioning and productivity (e.g., gas exchange, biomass), non-structural carbohydrate dynamics and mortality in two species, one DT and one non-DT Vellozia species in two water-stress experiments simulating mild and extreme drought. Both species had similar survival rates under mild drought conditions, but the DT species had a lower productivity. Under extreme drought, the dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates was similar in both species but only the non-DT species died, and the cause of mortality was likely hydraulic dysfunction, as they died after reaching psi TLP. All individuals of the DT species desiccated when they reached psi TLP but rehydrated after re-watering. We show that the DT strategy in V. nivea implies a costs in terms of productivity, specially under mild drought conditions, but it allows survival under extreme drought, indicating a trade-off between productivity and survival in the DT species. Climate change predictions with more frequent and severe droughts will likely affect the abundance and distribution of DT and non-DT taxa. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 12/21015-3 - Efeito da exclusão de chuva na fenologia e desempenho ecofisiológico de espécies nativas de campos rupestres: uma abordagem isotópica
• Beneficiário: Grazielle Sales Teodoro
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Exterior - Estágio de Pesquisa - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 10/50327-8 - Efeitos da exclusao de chuva na fenologia e desempenho ecofisiologico de especies nativas de campos rupestres.
• Beneficiário: Grazielle Sales Teodoro
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado