Authors: Roman Trubat Jordi Cortina Alberto Vilagrosa
Publish Date: 2006/01/10
Volume: 20, Issue: 3, Pages: 334-
Abstract
The plants in arid and semiarid areas are often limited by water and nutrients Morphofunctional adjustments to improve nutrient capture may have important implications on plant water balance and on plant capacity to withstand drought Several studies have shown that N and P deficiencies may decrease plant hydraulic conductance Surprisingly studies on the implications of nutrient limitations on water use in xerophytes are scarce We have evaluated the effects of strong reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus availability on morphological traits and hydraulic conductance in seedlings of a common Mediterranean shrub Pistacia lentiscus L Nitrogen deficiency resulted in a decrease in aboveground biomass accumulation but it did not affect belowground biomass accumulation or root morphology Phosphorusdeficient plants showed a decrease in leaf area but no changes in aboveground biomass Root length root surface area and specific root length were higher in phosphorusdeficient plants than in control plants Nitrogen and phosphorus deficiency reduced both root hydraulic conductance and root hydraulic conductance scaled by total root surface area On the other hand nutrient limitations did not significantly affect root conductance per unit of foliar surface area Thus adaptation to low nutrient availability did not affect seedling capacity for maintaining water supply to leaves The implications for drought resistance and survival during seedling establishment in semiarid environments are discussedThis research was funded by the CEAM Foundation Project “Selección de precedencias y producción de planta en vivero para la restauración de la cubierta vegetal y control de la erosión en clima semiárido” and XylRefor Manipulación de la arquitectura hidráulica en especies vegetales aplicada a la mejora de la calidad de la planta forestal Grupos 03/155 financed by the Generalitat Valenciana The CEAM Foundation is funded by Generalitat Valenciana and Bancaixa We are also grateful to Marian Pérez
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