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Is a reduction in stomatal conductance the main strategy of Garcinia brasiliensis (Clusiaceae) to deal with water stress?

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Abstract

A reduction in rainfall is predicted by climate models for some parts of the Amazon, and a decline in stomatal conductance (gs) is often the main effect of drought. The physiological effect of soil water deficit on other physiological traits has been little investigated in Amazonian trees. In this work we assess the effect of soil water deficit on leaf pigment content, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, total leaf area (AL), consumptive use of water (CUW, total amount of water used for irrigation), and biomass accumulation. Plants of Garcinia brasiliensis were grown in pots under greenhouse conditions and submitted to soil water deficit for 90 days, when several physiological parameters were measured. Water deficit was induced by reducing soil water content (SWC) to 25, 50 and 75% of field capacity (FC). The control was soil at 100% FC. Midday leaf water potential varied from − 0.72 MPa (SWC at 25% FC) to − 0.29 MPa in well-irrigated plants. Subjecting the plants to soil water deficit did not affect light saturating photosynthesis, leaf pigment content, Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activity or fluorescence parameters. Under moderate water stress Garcinia plants did not reduce stomatal conductance (gs) which remained rather unchanged. Instead, we found that mild water stress led to an increase in total non-structural carbohydrates, and as the stress progressed AL substantially declined, at a SWC of 25% FC. Drastic reduction of AL in plants exposed to SWC of 25% FC contributed to a reduction in total biomass accumulation, and a drop in AL resulted in a decline in CUW in this treatment. These results show that although there is no effect of moderated water stress on photosynthesis, gs or photochemical responses, there is a remarkable effect of moderate drought on biomass accumulation.

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Abbreviations

A L :

Total leaf area

Car:

Carotenoids

Chl-a :

Chlorophyll-a

Chl-b :

Chlorophyll-b

C i :

Intercellular CO2 concentration

C a :

CO2 concentration in the leaf chamber

CUW:

Consumptive use of water

E i :

Transpiration (instantaneous)

E P :

Total plant transpiration per unit area

ETR:

Electron transport rate

FC:

Field capacity

Fm :

Maximum Chl fluorescence of a dark-adapted leaf

F′m :

Maximum Chl fluorescence of an illuminated leaf

Fs :

Steady-state fluorescence

LWC:

Leaf water content

g s :

Stomatal conductance

H :

Plant height

J max :

Maximum electron transport rate

K c :

Michaelis constant of Rubisco for carboxylation

K c :

Michaelis constant of Rubisco for oxygenation

N L :

Leaf number (per plant)

NPQ:

Non-photochemical quenching

NSC:

Non-structural carbohydrates

PAR:

Photosynthetically active radiation

P N :

Net photosynthetic rate

P Nmax :

Light and CO2 saturated photosynthesis

P Nmax-mass :

PNmax on a mass basis

P Nsat :

Light saturated photosynthesis

P Nsat-mass :

PNsat on a mass basis

R d :

Leaf respiration (in the dark)

RH:

Relative humidity

S L :

Leaf size

SLA:

Specific leaf area

SRR:

Shoot/root ratio

SWC:

Soil water content (%, w/w)

TNC:

Total non-structural carbohydrates

V cmax :

Maximum carboxylation rate of Rubisco

W L :

Leaf biomass

W R :

Root biomass

W S :

Stem biomass

W T :

Total biomass

WUEi :

Instantaneous water-use efficiency

WUEP :

Whole-plant water-use efficiency

Γ*:

CO2 compensation point in the absence of mitochondrial respiration

ΨL :

Leaf water potential

ФPSII :

Effective quantum yield of photosystem II

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Acknowledgements

To the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovations and Communications (MCTIC/INPA PRJ 15.120), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, CNPq (fellowship to RAM) and FAPEAM for scholarship to PRSG. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which helped us to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute for Research in the Amazon (MCTIC/INPA PRJ 15.120) and CNPq.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tropic Humid Agriculture Graduate Program, National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), Avenida André Araújo 2936, Manaus, AM, 69067-375, Brazil

    Paula Romenya dos Santos Gouvêa

  2. Coordination of Environmental Dynamic, National Institute for Research in the Amazon (INPA), Avenida André Araújo 2936, Manaus, AM, 69067-375, Brazil

    Ricardo Antonio Marenco

Authors
  1. Paula Romenya dos Santos Gouvêa
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  2. Ricardo Antonio Marenco
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Contributions

PRSG collected gas exchange data, performed laboratory analyses and made the calculations; RAM planned and supervised the experiment, and wrote the article with contributions of the first author.

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Correspondence to Ricardo Antonio Marenco.

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dos Santos Gouvêa, P.R., Marenco, R.A. Is a reduction in stomatal conductance the main strategy of Garcinia brasiliensis (Clusiaceae) to deal with water stress?. Theor. Exp. Plant Physiol. 30, 321–333 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-018-0127-0

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