Article,
Drought increases freezing tolerance of both leaves and xylem of Larrea tridentata.
Plant, cell & environment, (Sep 1, 2010)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2010.02224.x
Abstract
Summary In this paper we present the first account of the interactive effects of drought and freezing on leaf, xylem and whole plant function in the ecologically important species Larrea tridentata. Drought may increase freezing tolerance in leaves while decreasing it in the xylem, potentially creating a mismatch between water supply and demand. To investigate this hypothesis we imposed freezing treatments on drought-exposed and well-watered greenhouse-grown juveniles and found that the presence of drought during freezing conferred a significant positive effect not only on leaf function, but also on xylem and whole plant function. Our data have broad implications for predicting the physiological responses of this dominant aridland species to climate change because they suggest that increased winter precipitation could negatively impact plant performance and survival at the high latitude edges of L. tridentata distributions, even in the event of increased long-term minimum temperature.
Tags
- cellular,
- citeulikeexport
- droughtbolism,
- freezebolism,
- freezing,
- gas\_exchange,
- hydraulics,
- tolerance
