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Adaptive, water-conserving strategies in Hedysarum mongolicum endemic to a desert shrubland ecosystem

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Abstract

Adaptive mechanisms in Hedysarum mongolicum to dry and hot conditions in desert areas remain unclear. In this work, the diurnal and seasonal dynamics of sap flow in H. mongolicum, endemic to a semi-arid desert shrubland ecosystem, were studied. Stem sap flow was continuously monitored with heat balance sensors from June to October, 2012. Diurnal pattern in sap flow per stem area (J s) revealed a clear seasonal trend, with J s peaking earlier in summer (~10:00 h, 3 h before solar noon, R s), than in autumn (at roughly the same time as R s). Seasonally, J s was positively correlated to leaf area index. Excluding effects of phenology, volumetric soil water content (VWC) affected J s the greatest. In general, VWC was revealed to regulate the degree of response of J s to meteorological factors [R s, temperature T, and water vapor pressure deficit (VPD)], with sap flow being more responsive to these factors when VWC was high (>0.09 m3 m−3). Under low VWC (<0.09 m3 m−3), positive response of J s to the meteorological factors became saturated (leveled off) or declined when dry-hot conditions exceeded an hourly mean T, R s, and VPD of 24 °C, 700 W m−2, and 2.1 kPa, respectively. The results showed that H. mongolicum shrubs adapt to hot-dry or water-limited conditions in summer by closing their stomata in mid-morning and reducing the sensitivity in J s to T, R s, and VPD. The understanding of adaptive mechanisms in desert shrub species could potentially provide important baseline information towards the ecological restoration and sustainable development of arid- and semi-arid ecosystems.

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Acknowledgment

This research was financially supported with grants from the National Basic Research Program of China (Project No.: 2013CB429901), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Project No.’s: 31270755 and 31361130340), and the Academy of Finland (Project No.: 14921). This work is related to the ongoing Finnish-Chinese collaborative research project, EXTREME, between Beijing Forestry University and the University of Eastern Finland. Thanks go to Huishu Shi, Yuming Zhang, Wei Feng, Sijing Li, Zhihao Chen, Siling Tang, Yajuan Wu, and Yuan Li for their assistance with the collection of field measurements and instrumentation maintenance.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yanchi Research Station, School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Duo Qian, Tianshan Zha, Xin Jia, Bin Wu, Yuqing Zhang & Shugao Qin

  2. Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Desertification Combating, Beijing Forestry University, Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100083, China

    Tianshan Zha, Xin Jia, Bin Wu, Yuqing Zhang & Shugao Qin

  3. Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, 28 Dineen Drive, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Charles P. A. Bourque

  4. Faculty of Science and Forestry, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Heli Peltola

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  1. Duo Qian
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Correspondence to Tianshan Zha.

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Qian, D., Zha, T., Jia, X. et al. Adaptive, water-conserving strategies in Hedysarum mongolicum endemic to a desert shrubland ecosystem. Environ Earth Sci 74, 6039–6046 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-4627-9

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