Adaptability evaluation of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivars on the Loess Plateau of China

In the study, the growth traits, photosynthesis and morphology characteristics of several cultivars of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) have been assessed the yield potential and adaptability in diverse environments (Yangling, Dingbian of Shaanxi province, Guyuan of Ningxia) on the Loess Plateau of China. Alamo was the best adapted switchgrass cultivar for biomass production in Yangling with dry matter (DM) yields of 44.22 t/ha; Illinois USA and Cave-in-Rock grown at Guyuan had DM yield of 10.59 t/ha and 9.36 t/ha, respectively. Similarly, Cave-in-Rock in Dingbian performed better than others except the lowland cultivars (Alamo and Kanlow), which could not overcome cold stress at Guyuan and Dingbian. Moreover, Cave-in-Rock and Nebraska 28 has the highest photosynthesis rate which reflects its high productivity. Nebraska 28 and Pathfinder shown strong drought tolerance due to their higher WUE. It appears that the upland cultivars with high ploidy (e.g. 8n) would have better establishment than lowland varieties there. Optimal mown management seems to enhance the growth and productivity of switchgrass. Morphological characteristics were further studied using light-and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Silica particles, vacuole size and other traits in switchgrass tissues (stem, leaf and root), as well as trichomes (leaf) showed that Cave-in-Rock and Pathfinder had larger stoma area, up to 824.4 μm² and 770.1 μm², respectively. Silica particle length was the longest in Pathfinder and shortest in Cave-in-Rock. There was a highest density of silica particles in cv. Forestberg, and lowest in Cave-in-Rock and Pathfinder. The morphological characters seemed to be associated with their ploidy levels and the arid habitat from which they were selected. Therefore, if switchgrass is to be introduced and extended on the Loess Plateau of China, Cave-in-Rock and other upland cultivars with a high chromosome ploidy might be optimal choices for biomass plants.     

Perennial Biomass Grasses and the Mason–Dixon Line: Comparative Productivity across Latitudes in the Southern Great Plains

Understanding latitudinal adaptation of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and Miscanthus (Miscanthus?×?giganteus J. M. Greef & Deuter ex Hodk. & Renvoize) to the southern Great Plains is key to maximizing productivity by matching each grass variety to its optimal production environment. The objectives of this study were: (1) to quantify latitudinal variation in production of representative upland switchgrass ecotypes (Blackwell, Cave-in-Rock, and Shawnee), lowland switchgrass ecotypes (Alamo, Kanlow), and Miscanthus in the southern half of the US Great Plains and (2) to investigate the environmental factors affecting yield variation. Leaf area and yield were measured on plots at 10 locations in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. More cold winter days led to decreased subsequent Alamo switchgrass yields and increased subsequent upland switchgrass yields. More hot-growing season days led to decreased Kanlow and Miscanthus yields. Increased drought intensity also contributed to decreased Miscanthus yields. Alamo switchgrass had the greatest radiation use efficiency (RUE) with a mean of 4.3 g per megajoule intercepted PAR and water use efficiency (WUE) with a mean of 4.5 mg of dry weight per gram of water transpired. The representative RUE values for other varieties ranged from 67 to 80 % of Alamo’s RUE value and 67 to 87 % of Alamo’s WUE. These results will provide valuable inputs to process-based models to realistically simulate these important perennial grasses in this region and to assess the environmental impacts of production on water use and nutrient demands. In addition, it will also be useful for landowners and companies choosing the most productive perennial grasses for biofuel production.     

Evaluating the resistance of six rice cultivars to drought: restriction of deep rooting and the use of raised beds

Soil water deficits reduce rice (Oryza sativa L.) productivity under upland field conditions. In this study, we constructed screening facilities to evaluate the performance of rice cultivars under drought conditions and to assess the roles of deep roots. Two experiments were conducted with six rice cultivars, including drought-tolerant and drought-susceptible cultivars, grown in two root environments: a root-restricted treatment that restricted rooting depth with water-permeable sheets, and a raised bed that reduced water availability in the surface soil by inserting a gravel layer between the topsoil and subsoil layers to interrupt capillary transport of water. In the root-restricted treatment, in which root growth was restricted to the surface 25-cm layer, leaf water potential decreased faster in cultivars with a large canopy during drought stress, and there was little difference in panicle weight among cultivars. With a normal (unrestricted) root environment, the deepest-rooting cultivar (‘IRAT109’) maintained higher leaf water potential during drought, although panicle weight under drought stress was affected by yield potential as well as by deep rooting. Under the intermittent drought stress in the raised bed, deep-rooting cultivars accumulated more nitrogen and produced more biomass, and the difference in panicle weight between deep-rooting drought-tolerant and shallow-rooting drought-susceptible cultivars was magnified by the raised bed compared with the yield differences under drought in a normal root environment. These results demonstrate that the drought screening facilities we developed can help to identify superior cultivars under upland field conditions without time-consuming measurement of deep root systems.     

Production of Autopolyploid Lowland Switchgrass Lines Through In Vitro Chromosome Doubling

Switchgrass is considered one of the most promising energy crops. However, breeding of elite switchgrass cultivars is required to meet the challenges of large scale and sustainable biomass production. As a native perennial adapted to North America, switchgrass has lowland and upland ecotypes, where most lowland ecotypes are tetraploid (2n?=?4x?=?36), and most upland ecotypes are predominantly octoploid (2n?=?8x?=?72). Hybridization between lowland and upland switchgrass plants could identify new cultivars with heterosis. However, crossing between tetraploid and octoploid switchgrass is rare in nature. Therefore, in order to break down the cross incompatibility barrier between tetraploid lowland and octoploid upland switchgrass lines, we developed autoployploid switchgrass lines from an anueploid lowland cv. Alamo. In this study, colchicine was used in liquid and solid mediums to chemically induce chromosome doubling in embryogenic calli derived from cv. Alamo. Thirteen autopolyploid switchgrass lines were regenerated from seedlings and identified using flow cytometry. The autoplyploid switchgrass plants exhibited increased stomata aperture and stem size in comparison with the cv. Alamo. The most autooplyploid plants were regenerated from switchgrass calli that were treated with 0.04 % colchicine in liquid medium for 13 days. One autopolyploid switchgrass line, VT8-1, was successfully crossed to the octoploid upland cv. Blackwell. The autoployploid and the derived inter-ecotype hybrids were confirmed by in situ hybridization and molecular marker analysis. Therefore, the results of this study show that an autopolyploid, generated by chemically induced chromosome doubling of lowland cv. Alamo, is cross compatible with upland octoploid switchgrass cultivars. The outcome of this study may have significant applications in switchgrass hybrid breeding.     

Characterization of the Rust Fungus, Puccinia emaculata, and Evaluation of Genetic Variability for Rust Resistance in Switchgrass Populations

Several fungal pathogens have been identified on ornamental and native stands of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.). Diseases of switchgrass, particularly rust, have been largely neglected and are likely to become the major limiting factor to biomass yield and quality, especially when monocultured over a large acreage. Based on teliospore morphology and internal transcribed spacer-based diagnostic primers, the rust pathogen collected from switchgrass research fields in Oklahoma was identified as Puccinia emaculata. Furthermore, to identify genetically diverse source(s) of rust resistance, several switchgrass genotypes from both upland (cv. ‘Summer’ and ‘Cave-in-Rock’) and lowland (cv. ‘Alamo’ and ‘Kanlow’) ecotypes were evaluated in Ardmore, Oklahoma during 2008 and 2009 and in growth chamber assays. Field and growth chamber evaluations revealed a high degree of genetic variation within and among switchgrass cultivars. In general, Alamo and Kanlow showed moderate resistance to P. emaculata, while Summer was highly susceptible. Distinct ecotypic variations for reactions to rust were also prevalent with the lowlands maintaining a high level of resistance. These results suggest the potential for improvement of rust resistance via the selection of resistant individuals from currently available cultivars. Further, the selection pressure on the pathogen would also be reduced by employing several rust resistant cultivars in production-scale situations.     

Clash of the Titans: Comparing Productivity Via Radiation Use Efficiency for Two Grass Giants of the Biofuel Field

The comparative productivity of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) is of critical importance to the biofuel industry. The radiation use efficiency (RUE), when derived in an environment with non-limiting soil water and soil nutrients, provides one metric of relative productivity. The objective of this study was to compare giant Miscanthus to available switchgrass cultivars, using established methods to calculate RUE of the two species at two disparate sites. Measurements of fraction intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and dry matter were taken on plots at Elsberry, MO (Miscanthus and the switchgrass cultivars Alamo, Kanlow, and Cave-in-Rock) and at Gustine, TX (Miscanthus and Alamo switchgrass, irrigated with dairy wastewater and a non-irrigated control). In MO, Miscanthus mean RUE (3.71) was less than Alamo switchgrass mean RUE (4.30). In TX under irrigation, Miscanthus mean RUE was 2.24 and Alamo switchgrass mean RUE was 3.20. In MO, the more northern lowland switchgrass cultivar, Kanlow, showed similar mean RUE (3.70) as Miscanthus. In MO, the northern upland cultivar Cave-in-Rock had a mean RUE (3.17) that was only 85% of that for Miscanthus at MO. Stress (water and nutrients) had a greater effect on Miscanthus RUE than on switchgrass RUE in TX. These results provide realistic RUE values for simulating these important biofuel grasses in diverse environmental conditions.     

Leaf gas exchange of upland and lowland rice cultivars

Leaf gas exchange of upland and lowland rice cultivars were measured during late vegetative and during grain filling stages in the field under upland and lowland growth conditions. The rate of photosynthesis and water use efficiency (the rate of photosynthesis/the rate of transpiration) under upland conditions decreased with ageing, but generally varied little among four cultivars. At mid-grain filling under lowland conditions, upland cultivars showed lower rates of photosynthesis and transpiration than the lowland cultivars with concomitant reduction in whole plant conductance. At this stage, water use efficiency was higher under upland conditions than under lowland conditions, particularly in the upland cultivars. Water stress reduced the rate of photosynthesis without altering water use efficiency.     

Rice leaf growth and water potential are resilient to evaporative demand and soil water deficit once the effects of root system are neutralized

Rice is known to be sensitive to soil water deficit and evaporative demand, with a greatest sensitivity of lowland‐adapted genotypes. We have analysed the responses of plant water relations and of leaf elongation rate (LER) to soil water status and evaporative demand in seven rice genotypes belonging to different species, subspecies, either upland‐ or lowland‐adapted. In the considered range of soil water potential (0 to ?0.6 MPa), stomatal conductance was controlled in such a way that the daytime leaf water potential was similar in well‐watered, droughted or flooded conditions (isohydric behaviour). A low sensitivity of LER to evaporative demand was observed in the same three conditions, with small differences between genotypes and lower sensitivity than in maize. The sensitivity of LER to soil water deficit was similar to that of maize. A tendency towards lower sensitivities was observed in upland than lowland genotypes but with smaller differences than expected. We conclude that leaf water status and leaf elongation of rice are not particularly sensitive to water deficit. The main origin of drought sensitivity in rice may be its poor root system, whose effect was alleviated in the study presented here by growing plants in pots whose soil was entirely colonized by roots of all genotypes.     

Cell Membrane Stability and Leaf Surface Wax Content as Affected by Increasing Water Deficits in Maize

A field experiment was conducted with a water-stressed treatmentand well-watered control using eight maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars.Effects of water deficits on cell membrane stability (CMS) measuredby the polyethylene glycol (PEG) test, leaf surface wax content,and relative growth rate were investigated. Cytoplasmic lipidcontent was also analysed. Cell membrane stability and leaf surface wax content increasedwith the degrees of stress. Tolerance to drought evaluated asincrease in CMS under water deficit conditions was well differentiatedbetween cultivars and was well correlated with a reduction inrelative growth rate under stress. A negative correlation wasfound between percentage injury in the PEG test and leaf surfacewax content. High phospholipid contents were observed in tissuesof drought tolerant cultivars under water deficit conditions. Key words: Cell membrane stability, cytoplasmic lipid, drought tolerance, leaf surface wax, relative growth rate     

The role of aquaporin RWC3 in drought avoidance in rice

Although the discovery of aquaporins in plants has resulted in a paradigm shift in the understanding of plant water relations, the relationship between aquaporins and drought resistance still remains elusive. From an agronomic viewpoint, upland rice is traditionally considered as showing drought avoidance. In the investigation of different morphological and physiological responses of upland rice (Oryza sativa L. spp indica cv. Zhonghan 3) and lowland rice (O. sativa L. spp japonica cv. Xiushui 63) to water deficit, we observed young leaf rolling and the remarkable decline of cumulative transpiration in the upland rice. The expression of water channel protein RWC3 mRNA was increased in upland rice at the early response (up to 4 h) to the 20% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 treatment, whereas there was no significant expression changes in lowland rice. Protein levels were increased in upland rice and decreased in lowland rice at 10 h after the water deficit. The up-regulation of RWC3 in upland rice fits well with the knowledge that upland rice adopts the mechanism of drought avoidance. The physiological significance of this RWC3 up-regulation was then explored with the over-expression of RWC3 in transgenic lowland rice (O. sativa L. spp japonica cv. Zhonghua 11) controlled by a stress-inducible SWPA2 promoter. Compared to the wild-type plant, the transgenic lowland rice exhibited higher root osmotic hydraulic conductivity (Lp), leaf water potential and relative cumulative transpiration at the end of 10 h PEG treatment. These results indicated that RWC3 probably played a role in drought avoidance in rice.     

Drought stress and plant ecotype drive microbiome recruitment in switchgrass rhizosheath

The rhizosheath, a layer of soil grains that adheres firmly to roots, is beneficial for plant growth and adaptation to drought environments. Switchgrass is a perennial C4 grass which can form contact rhizosheath under drought conditions. In this study, we characterized the microbiomes of four different rhizocompartments of two switchgrass ecotypes (Alamo and Kanlow) grown under drought or well-watered conditions via 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. These four rhizocompartments, the bulk soil, rhizosheath soil, rhizoplane, and root endosphere, harbored both distinct and overlapping microbial communities. The root compartments (rhizoplane and root endosphere) displayed low-complexity communities dominated by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Compared to bulk soil, Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidetes were selectively enriched, while Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were selectively depleted, in rhizosheath soil. Taxa from Proteobacteria or Firmicutes were specifically selected in Alamo or Kanlow rhizosheath soil. Following drought stress, Citrobacter and Acinetobacter were further enriched in rhizosheath soil, suggesting that rhizosheath microbiome assembly is driven by drought stress. Additionally, the ecotype-specific recruitment of rhizosheath microbiome reveals their differences in drought stress responses. Collectively, these results shed light on rhizosheath microbiome recruitment in switchgrass and lay the foundation for the improvement of drought tolerance in switchgrass by regulating the rhizosheath microbiome.     

Whole plant responses, key processes, and adaptation to drought stress: the case of rice

Most high-yielding rice cultivars developed for irrigated conditions, including the widely grown lowland variety IR64, are highly susceptible to drought stress. This limits their adoption in rainfed rice environments where there is a risk of water shortage during the growing season. Mapping studies using lowland-by-upland rice populations have provided limited information about the genetic basis of variation in yield under drought. One approach to simultaneously improve and understand rice drought tolerance is to generate backcross populations, select superior lines in managed stress environments, and then evaluate which features of the selected lines differ from the recurrent parent. This approach was been taken with IR64, using a range of tolerant and susceptible cultivars as donor parents. Yields of the selected lines measured across 13 widely contracting water environments were generally greater than IR64, but genotype-by-environment effects were large. Traits expected to vary between IR64 and selected lines are plant height, because many donors were not semi-dwarf types, and maturity, because selection in a terminal stress environment is expected to favour earliness. In these experiments it was found that some lines that performed better under upland drought were indeed taller than IR64, but that shorter lines with good yield under drought could also be identified. In trials where drought stress developed in previously flooded (lowland) fields, height was not associated with performance. There was little change in maturity with selection. Other notable differences between IR64 and the selected backcross lines were in their responses to applied ABA and ethylene in greenhouse experiments at the vegetative stage and in leaf rolling observed under chronic upland stress in the field. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that adaptive responses to drought can effectively allow for improved performance across a broad range of water environments. The results indicate that the yield of IR64 under drought can be significantly improved by backcrossing with selection under stress. In target environments where drought is infrequent but significant in certain years, improved IR64 with greater drought tolerance would be a valuable option for farmers.     

Improving water use efficiency by changing hydraulic and stomatal characteristics in soybean exposed to drought: the involvement of nitric oxide

A variety of cellular responses is needed to ensure the plants survival during drought, but little is known about the signaling mechanisms involved in this process. Soybean cultivars (EMBRAPA 48 and BR 16, tolerant and sensitive to drought, respectively) were exposed to the following treatments: control conditions (plants in field capacity), drought (20% of available water in the soil), sodium nitroprusside (SNP) treatment (plants irrigated and treated with 100-µM SNP [SNP–nitric oxide (NO) donor molecule], and Drought + SNP (plants subjected to drought and SNP treatment). Plants remained in these conditions until the reproductive stage and were evaluated for physiological (photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll a fluorescence and gas exchange rates), hydraulic (water potential, osmotic potential and leaf hydraulic conductivity) and morpho-anatomical traits (biomass, venation density and stomatal characterization). Exposure to water deficit considerably reduced water potential in both cultivars and resulted in decrease in photosynthesis and biomass accumulation. The addition of the NO donor attenuated these damaging effects of water deficit and increased the tolerance index of both cultivars. The results showed that NO was able to reduce plant's water loss, while maintaining their biomass production through alteration in stomatal characteristics, hydraulic conductivity and the biomass distribution pattern. These hydraulic and morpho-anatomical alterations allowed the plants to obtain, transport and lose less water to the atmosphere, even in water deficit conditions.     

Panicle Water Potential, a Physiological Trait to Identify Drought Tolerance in Rice

Two upland rice varieties (IRAT109, IAPAR9) and one lowland rice variety (Zhenshan 97B) were planted in summer and treated with both normal (full water) and drought stress in the reproductive stage. Panicle water potential (PWP) and leaf water potential (LWP) were measured every 1.0-1.5 h over 24 h on sunny days. Both PWP and LWP of upland varieties started to decrease later, maintained a higher level and recovered more quickly than that of the lowland variety. The results show that PWP can be used as an indicator of plant water status based on the parallel daily changes, and the high correlation between PWP and LWP. Similar correlations were also observed between PWP, LWP and eight traits related to plant growth and grain yield formation. PWP seemed to be more effective for distinguishing the upland rice varieties with different drought-tolerant ability. Differences in PWP and LWP between upland and lowland rice varieties were also observed at noon even under normal water conditions, implying the incorporation of the drought-tolerant mechanism to improve the photosynthesis and yield of traditional paddy rice.     

Panicle Water Potential, a Physiological Trait to Identify Drought Tolerance in Rice

Two upland rice varieties （IRAT109, IAPAR9） and one lowland rice variety （Zhenshan 97B） were planted in summer and treated with both normal （full water） and drought stress in the reproductive stage. Panicle water potential （PWP） and leaf water potential （LWP） were measured every 1.0-1.5 h over 24 h on sunny days. Both PWP and LWP of upland varieties started to decrease later, maintained a higher level and recovered more quickly than that of the lowland variety. The results show that PWP can be used as an indicator of plant water status based on the parallel daily changes, and the high correlation between PWP and LWP. Similar correlations were also observed between PWP, LWP and eight traits related to plant growth and grain yield formation. PWP seemed to be more effective for distinguishing the upland rice varieties with different drought-tolerant ability. Differences in PWP and LWP between upland and lowland rice varieties were also observed at noon even under normal water conditions, implying the incorporation of the drought-tolerant mechanism to improve the photosynthesis and yield of traditional paddy rice.     

Local adaptation of switchgrass drives trait relations to yield and differential responses to climate and soil environments

Switchgrass, a potential biofuel crop, is a genetically diverse species with phenotypic plasticity enabling it to grow in a range of environments. Two primary divergent ecotypes, uplands and lowlands, exhibit trait combinations representative of acquisitive and conservative growth allocation strategies, respectively. Whether these ecotypes respond differently to various types of environmental drivers remains unclear but is crucial to understanding how switchgrass varieties will respond to climate change. We grew two upland, two lowland, and two intermediate/hybrid cultivars of switchgrass at three sites along a latitudinal gradient in the central United States. Over a 4-year period, we measured plant functional traits and biomass yields and evaluated genotype-by-environment (G × E) interaction effects by analyzing switchgrass responses to soil and climate variables. We found substantial evidence of G × E interactions on biomass yield, primarily due to deviations in the response of the southern lowland cultivar Alamo, which produced more biomass in hotter and drier environments relative to other cultivars. While lowland cultivars had the highest potential for yield, their yields were more variable year-to-year compared to other cultivars, suggesting greater sensitivity to environmental perturbations. Models comparing soil and climate principal components as explanatory variables revealed soil properties, especially nutrients, to be most effective at predicting switchgrass biomass yield. Also, positive correlations between biomass yield and conservative plant traits, such as high stem mass and tiller height,  became stronger at lower latitudes where the climate is hotter and drier, regardless of ecotype. Lowland cultivars, however, showed a greater predisposition to exhibit these conservative traits. These results suggest switchgrass trait allocation trade-offs that prioritize aboveground biomass production are more tightly associated in hot, dry environments and that lowland cultivars may exhibit a more specialized strategy relative to other cultivars. Altogether, this research provides essential knowledge for improving the viability of switchgrass as a biofuel crop.     

干旱胁迫对小麦幼苗根系生长和叶片光合作用的影响

采用水培试验方法,以2个耐旱性不同的小麦品种(敏感型望水白和耐旱型洛旱7号)为材料,研究了干旱胁迫对小麦幼苗根系形态、生理特性以及叶片光合作用的影响,以期揭示小麦幼苗对干旱胁迫的适应机制.结果表明： 干旱胁迫下,2个小麦品种幼苗的根系活力显著增大,而根数和根系表面积受到抑制;干旱胁迫降低了望水白的叶片相对含水量,提高了束缚水/自由水,而对洛旱7号无显著影响;干旱胁迫降低了2个小麦品种叶片的叶绿素含量、净光合速率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度和胞间CO2浓度,但随胁迫时间的延长,洛旱7号的叶绿素含量和净光合速率与对照差异不显著;干旱胁迫降低了2个小麦品种幼苗的单株叶面积,以及望水白的根系、地上部和植株生物量,而对洛旱7号无显著影响.水分胁迫下,耐旱型品种可以通过提高根系活力、保持较高的根系生长量来补偿根系吸收面积的下降,保持较高的根系吸水能力,进而维持较高的光合面积和光合速率,缓解干旱对生长的抑制.     

Biomass production and water use efficiency in perennial grasses during and after drought stress

Drought is a great challenge to agricultural production, and cultivation of drought‐tolerant or water use‐efficient cultivars is important to ensure high biomass yields for bio‐refining and bioenergy. Here, we evaluated drought tolerance of four C₃ species, Dactylis glomerata cvs. Sevenop and Amba, Festuca arundinacea cvs. Jordane and Kora, Phalaris arundinacea cvs. Bamse and Chieftain and Festulolium pabulare cv. Hykor, and two C₄ species Miscanthus × giganteus and M. lutarioriparius. Control (irrigated) and drought‐treated plants were grown on coarse and loamy sand in 1 m² lysimeter plots where rain was excluded. Drought periods started after harvest and lasted until 80% of available soil water had been used. Drought caused a decrease in dry matter yield (DM; P < 0.001) for all species and cultivars during the drought period. Cultivars Sevenop, Kora and Jordane produced DM at equal levels and higher than the other C₃ cultivars in control and drought‐treated plots both during and after the drought period. Negative correlations were observed between stomatal conductance (g_s) and leaf water potential (P < 0.01) and positive correlations between g_s and DM (P < 0.05) indicating that g_s might be suitable for assessment of drought stress. There were indications of positive associations between plants carbon isotope composition and water use efficiency (WUE) as well as DM under well‐watered conditions. Compared to control, drought‐treated plots showed increased growth in the period after drought stress. Thus, the drought events did not affect total biomass production (DM_total) of the whole growing season. During drought stress and the whole growing season, WUE was higher in drought‐treated compared to control plots, so it seems possible to save water without loss of biomass. Across soil types, M. lutarioriparius had the highest DM_total (15.0 t ha^?1), WUE_total (3.6 g L^?1) and radiation use efficiency (2.3 g MJ^?1) of the evaluated grasses.     

西南喀斯特地区两种草本对干湿交替和N添加的生长响应

喀斯特地区的"岩溶干旱"和频繁的变水环境成为喀斯特地区植被生长和分布的重要选择压力,是该地区植被恢复重建的主要障碍因子。N沉降也会对喀斯特地区的生态系统造成难以预测的影响。为了探究喀斯特地区草本植物对干湿交替和N添加的生长响应,以苍耳(Xanthium sibiricum)和三叶鬼针草(Bidens pilosa)为研究对象,通过盆栽水分受控实验,研究了5种不同水分处理[对照组(CK)、干旱组(D)、1周干湿交替处理组(DW-1)、2周干湿交替处理组(DW-2)和3周干湿交替处理组(DW-3)]与N添加(N+、N-)对两种草本植物生长和生物量的影响。结果表明,干旱胁迫抑制了植物生长和生物量的积累,株高、叶面积、总根长和根体积等生长指标和地上生物量均显著降低,根冠比增大。不同程度的干湿交替对植物的生长和生物量的积累均表现出一定程度的补偿效应,但这种补偿效应的大小随着干旱持续时间的延长而减弱。N添加对植物的生长和生物量积累有显著地促进作用,株高、根表面积、根体积和根生物量较对照组显著增加,但这种促进作用随着干旱历时的增加而减弱,可能与土壤水分状况有关。同时,N添加还影响着植物生物量的分配,在促进两种植物地上和地下生长的同时,还促进了植物根冠比的增加。