Drought tolerance of leaves from plants exposed to a global warming manipulation in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado
- California State Univ., San Bernardino, CA (United States)
Drought tolerance was compared for leaves of Artemisia tridentata, Festuca thurberi and Potentilla gracilis exposed to a global warming manipulation at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, near Crested Butte, CO. Leaves of the three species were collected from plants growing in situ in heated and control plots then dried for various periods of time up to 24 h. Tolerance was compared in terms of reduction of relative water content, change in water potential, and changes in chlorophyll a fluorescence quenching kinetics. Relative water content decreased by about 80% for F. thurberi and P. gracilis, but by less than 50% for A. tridentata. Also, plants from heated plots lost water faster than controls for F. thurberi and P. gracilis; for A. tridentata the opposite was true. Water potential for both control and heated-plot leaves decreased below -10 MPa after 24 h drying for F. thurberi and P. gracilis; water potential for A. tridentata decreased little and averaged -2.0 MPa. Quenching of chlorophyll a fluorescence was abolished for F. thurberi and P. gracilis leaves after 8 h drying, and there was little difference between heated and control leaves. Quenching decreased for A. tridentata, but was slower for leaves from heated plots. Leaves from A. tridentata may be better adapted than F. thurberi and P. gracilis to a drier climate in the Rocky Mountains under global warming.
- OSTI ID:
- 95836
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9507129--
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 76; ISSN BECLAG; ISSN 0012-9623
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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