Photosynthetica 2012, 50(1):109-119 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-012-0015-9

Photosynthetic response of two shrubs to rainfall pulses in desert regions of northwestern China

B. Liu1,*, W. Z. Zhao1, Z. J. Wen2
1 Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Inland River Ecohydrology, Cold and Arid Regions, Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
2 School of Mathematics and Statistics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

Pulses of rainfall are particularly pivotal in controlling plant physiological processes in ecosystems controlled by limited water, and the response of desert plants to rainfall is a key to understanding the responses of desert ecosystems to global climatic change. We used a portable photosynthesis system to measure the responses of the diurnal course of photosynthesis, light-response curves, and CO2-response curves of two desert shrubs (Nitraria sphaerocarpa Maxim. and Calligonum mongolicum Turcz) to a rainfall pulse in a desert-oasis ecotone in northwestern China. The photosynthetic parameters, light- and CO2-response curves differed significantly before and after the rainfall pulse. Their maximum net photosynthetic rate (P N) values were 23.27 and 32.92 μmol(CO2) m-2 s-1 for N. sphaerocarpa and C. mongolicum, respectively, with corresponding maximum stomatal conductance (g s) values of 0.47 and 0.39 mol(H2O) m-2 s-1. The P N of N. sphaerocarpa after the rainfall was 1.65 to 1.75 times the value before rainfall, whereas those of C. mongolicum increased to approximately 2 times the prerainfall value, demonstrating the importance of the desert plants response by improving their assimilation rate to precipitation patterns under a future climate.

Additional key words: Calligonum mongolicum; Nitraria sphaerocarpa; photosynthetic parameters; rainfall pulse; response curves

Received: March 28, 2011; Accepted: September 12, 2011; Published: March 1, 2012  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Liu, B., Zhao, W.Z., & Wen, Z.J. (2012). Photosynthetic response of two shrubs to rainfall pulses in desert regions of northwestern China. Photosynthetica, 50(1), 109-119. doi: 10.1007/s11099-012-0015-9
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Arndt, S.K., Clifford, S.C., Popp, M, Wanek, W.: Contrasting adaptations to drought stress in field-grown Ziziphus mauritiana and Prunus persica trees: water relations, osmotic adjustment and carbon isotope composition. - Aust. J. Plant. Physiol. 27: 985-996, 2000. Go to original source...
    2. Arritt, R.W., Goering, D.C., Anderson, C.J.: The North American monsoon system in the Hadley Centre coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM. - Geophys. Res. Lett. 27: 565-568, 2000. Go to original source...
    3. Boyer, J.S.: Leaf enlargement and metabolic rates in corn, soybean and sunflower at various leaf water potentials. - Plant. Physiol. 46: 233-235, 1970. Go to original source...
    4. Cornic, G.: Drought stress inhibits photosynthesis by decreasing stomatal aperture - not by affecting ATP synthesis. - Trends Plant. Sci. 5: 187-188, 2000. Go to original source...
    5. Dai, X.B., Zhai, H.Q., Zhang, H.S.: [Effect of soil drought stress on photosynthetic rate and carbonic anhydrase activity of rice leaf.] - Acta. Phytophysiol. Sin. 26: 133-136, 2000. [In Chin., English summ.]
    6. Eagleson, P.S.: Ecological optimality in water limited natural soil-vegetation systems. - Water Sci. Res. 18: 325-354, 1982. Go to original source...
    7. Easterling, D.R., Meehl, G.A., Parmesan, C., Changnon, S.A., Karl, T.R., Mearns, L.O.: Climate extremes: observations, modeling, and impacts. - Science 289: 2068-2074, 2000. Go to original source...
    8. Ehleringer, J.R., Schwinning, S., Gebauer, R.L.E.: Water use in arid land ecosystems. - In: Press, M.C. (ed.): Advances in Plant Physiological Ecology. Pp. 347-365. Blackwell Sci., Oxford 1999.
    9. Farquhar, G.D., von Caemmerer, S., Berry, J.A.: A biochemical model of photosynthetic CO2 assimilation in leaves of C3 species. - Planta 149: 78-90, 1980. Go to original source...
    10. Farquhar, G.D., Sharkey, T.D.: Stomatal conductance and photosynthesis. - Annu. Rev. Plant. Physiol. 33: 317-345, 1982. Go to original source...
    11. Flexas, J., Bota, J., Loreto, F., Cornic, G., Sharkey, T.D.: Diffusive and metabolic limitations to photosynthesis under drought and salinity in C3 plants. - Plant Biology 3: 269-279, 2004. Go to original source...
    12. Flexas, J., Medrano, H.: Drought-inhibition of photosynthesis in C3 plants: stomatal and non-stomatal limitation revisited. - Ann. Bot. 89: 183-189, 2002. Go to original source...
    13. Franks, P.J.: Stomatal control and hydraulic conductance, with special reference to tall trees. - Tree Physiol. 24: 865-878, 2004. Go to original source...
    14. Gebauer, R.L.E., Ehleringer, J.R.: Water and nitrogen uptake patterns following moisture pulses in a cold desert community. - Ecology 81: 1415-1424, 2000. Go to original source...
    15. Harley, P.C., Baldocchi, D.D.: Scaling carbon dioxide and water vapour exchange from leaf to canopy in a deciduous forest. I. Leaf model parameterization. - Plant Cell Environ. 18: 1146-1156, 1995. Go to original source...
    16. Huxman, T.E., Snyder, K.A., Tissue, D., Leffler, A.J., Ogle, K., Pockman, W.T., Sandquist, D.R., Potts, D.L., Schwinning, S.: Precipitation pulses and carbon fluxes in semiarid and arid ecosystems. - Oecologia 141: 254-268, 2004. Go to original source...
    17. Ignace, D.D., Huxman, T.E., Weltzin, J.F., Williams, D.G.; Leaf gas exchange and water status responses of a native and non-native grass to precipitation across contrasting soil surfaces in the Sonoran Desert. - Oecologia 152: 401-413, 2007. Go to original source...
    18. Ivans, C.Y., Leffler, A.J., Spaulding, U., Stark, J.M., Ryel, R.J., Caldwell, M.M.: Root responses and nitrogen acquisition by Artemisia tridentata and Agropyron desertorum following small summer rainfall events. - Oecologia 134: 317-324, 2003. Go to original source...
    19. Ivans, S., Hipps, L., Leffler, A.J., Ivans, C.Y.: Response of water vapor and CO2 fluxes in semiarid lands to seasonal and intermittent precipitation pulses. - J. Hydrometeorol. 7: 995-1010, 2006. Go to original source...
    20. Jackson, R.B., Carpenter, S.R., Dahm, C.N., McNight, D.M., Naiman, R.J., Postel, S.L., Running, S.W.: Water in a changing world. - J. Appl. Ecol. 11:1027-1045, 2001. Go to original source...
    21. Kaiser, W.M.: Effect of water deficits on photosynthetic capacity. - Physiol. Plant. 71: 142-149, 1987. Go to original source...
    22. Li, Y.G., Jiang, G.M., Liu, M.Z., Niu, M.Z., Gao, L.M., Cao, X.C.: Photosynthetic response to precipitation/rainfall in predominant tree (Ulmus pumila) seedlings in Hunshandak Sandland, China. - Photosynthetica 45: 133-138, 2007. Go to original source...
    23. Loik, M.E.: Sensitivity of water relations and photosynthesis to summer precipitation pulses for Artemisia tridentata and Purshia tridentata. - Plant Ecol. 191: 95-108, 2007. Go to original source...
    24. Marron, N., Delay, D., Petit, J.M., Deyer, E., Kahlem, G., Delmotte, F.M., Brignolas, F.: Physiological traits of two Populus × euramericana clones, Luisa Avanzo and Dorskamp, during a water stress and re-watering cycle. - Tree. Physiol. 22: 849-858, 2002. Go to original source...
    25. Meiresonne, L., Sampson, D.A., Kowalski, A.S., Janssens, I.A., Nadezhdina, N., Cermak, J., Van Slycken, J., Ceulemans, R.: Water flux estimates from a Belgian Scots pine stand: a comparison of different approaches. - J. Hydrol. 270: 230-252, 2003. Go to original source...
    26. Noy-Meir, I.: Desert ecosystems: environment and producers. - Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4: 25-52, 1973. Go to original source...
    27. Ogle, K., Reynolds, J.F.: Plant responses to precipitation in desert ecosystems: integrating functional types, pulses, thresholds, and delays. - Oecologia 141: 282-294, 2004. Go to original source...
    28. Okada, M., Kitajima, M., Butler, W.L.: Inhibition of photosystem I and photosystem II in chloroplasts by UV radiation. - Plant. Cell. Physiol. 17: 35-43, 1976. Go to original source...
    29. Olsson, T., Leverenz, J.W.: Non-uniform stomata closure and the apparent convexity of the photosynthetic photon flux density response curve. - Plant Cell Physiol. 17: 701-710, 1994. Go to original source...
    30. Prioul, J.F., Chartier, P.: Partitioning of transfer and carboxylation components of intracellular resistance to photosynthetic CO2 fixation: A critical analysis of the methods used. - Ann. Bot. 41: 789-800, 1977. Go to original source...
    31. Reynolds, J.F., Kemp, P.R., Ogle, K., Fernandez, R.J.: Modifying the 'pulse-reserve' paradigm for deserts of North America: precipitation pulses, soil water, and plant responses. - Oecologia 141: 194-210, 2004. Go to original source...
    32. Reynolds, J.F., Virginia, R.A., Kemp, P.R., De Soyza, A.G., Tremmel, D.C.: Impact of drought on desert shrubs: effects of seasonality and degree of resource island development. - Ecol. Monogr. 69: 69-106, 1999. Go to original source...
    33. Schwinning, S., Davis, K., Richardson, L., Ehleringer, J.R.: Deuterium enriched irrigation indicates different forms of rain use in shrub/grass species of the Colorado Plateau. - Oecologia 130: 345-355, 2002. Go to original source...
    34. Schwinning, S., Ehleringer, J.R.: Water use trade-offs and optimal adaptations to pulse-driven arid ecosystems. - J. Ecol. 89: 464-480, 2001. Go to original source...
    35. Schwinning, S., Sala, O.E.: Hierarchy of responses to resource pulses in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. - Oecologia 141: 211-220, 2004. Go to original source...
    36. Schwinning, S., Sala, O.E., Loik, M.E., Ehleringer, J.R.: Thresholds, memory, and seasonality: understanding pulse dynamics in arid/semi-arid ecosystems. - Oecologia 141: 191-193, 2004. Go to original source...
    37. Siefermann-Harms, D.: The yellowing of spruce in polluted atmospheres. - Photosynthetica 27: 323-341, 1992.
    38. Silva, F.C.E., Shvaleva, A., Maroco, J.P., Almeida, M.H., Chaves, M.M., Pereira, J.S.: Responses to water stress in two Eucalyptus globulus clones differing in drought tolerance. - Tree Physiol. 24: 1165-1172, 2004. Go to original source...
    39. Smith, S.D., Huxman, T.E., Zitzer, S.F., Charlet, T.N., Housman, D.C., Coleman, J.S., Fenstermaker, L.K., Seemann, J.R., Nowak, R.S.: Elevated CO2 increases productivity and invasive species success in an arid ecosystem. - Nature 408: 79-82, 2000. Go to original source...
    40. Smith, S.D., Nowak, R.S.: Ecophysiology of plants in the Intermountain lowlands. - In: Osmond, C.B., Pitelka, L.F., Hidy, G.F. (ed.): Plant Biology of the Basin and Range. Pp. 179-241. Springer-Verlag, New York 1990. Go to original source...
    41. Stephenson, N.L.: Climatic control of vegetation distribution: The role of the water balance. - Amer. Natur. 135: 649-670, 1990. Go to original source...
    42. Woodrow, I.E., Murphy, D.J., Latako, E.: Regulation of stromal sedoheptulose 1,7 - bisphosphatase activity by pH and Mg2+ concentration. - J. Biol. Chem. 259: 3791-3795, 1984. Go to original source...
    43. Xu, H., Li, Y.: Water-use strategy of three central Asian desert shrubs and their responses to rain pulse events. - Plant. Soil. 285: 5-17, 2006. Go to original source...
    44. Xu, H., Li, Y., Xu, G.Q., Zou, T.: Ecophysiological response and morphological adjustment of two Central Asian desert shrubs towards variation in summer precipitation. - Plant. Cell. Environ. 30: 399-409, 2007. Go to original source...
    45. Yan, S., Wan, C., Sosebee, R.E., Wester, D.B., Fish, E.B., Zartman, R.E.: Responses of photosynthesis and water relations to rainfall in the desert shrub creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) as influenced by municipal biosolids. - J. Arid. Environ. 46: 397-412, 2000. Go to original source...
    46. Zeppel, M.J.B., Murray, B.R., Barton, C., Eamus, D.: Seasonal responses of xylem sap velocity to VPD and solar radiation during drought in a stand of native trees in temperate Australia. - Funct. Plant Biol. 31: 461-470, 2004. Go to original source...
    47. Zhao, W.Z., Liu, B.: The response of sap flow in shrubs to rainfall pulses in the desert region of China. - Agron. Forest Meteorol. 150: 1297-1306, 2010. Go to original source...

    Return to the content