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Plastic responses to temporal variation in moisture availability: consequences for water use efficiency and plant
Joshua J Picotte1, David M Rosenthal, Jennifer M Rhode
1Department of Biology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97207, USA.
Oecologia
|July 20, 2007
Summary
Plants that adjust leaf traits like size and hairiness to dry conditions improve water use efficiency (WUE) and growth. This phenotypic plasticity enhances plant fitness in variable environments.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Ecology
- Evolutionary biology
Background:
- Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adjust traits in response to environmental changes, potentially increasing fitness.
- Temporal environmental variation, such as fluctuating water availability, presents challenges for plant growth and survival.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individual leaf traits and their plastic adjustments influence plant growth in a temporally variable environment.
- To determine the role of water use efficiency (WUE) and leaf morphology in plant adaptation to drought conditions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized recombinant hybrid plants from the Piriqueta caroliniana complex to examine a wide range of trait variations.
- Grew replicated hybrid genotypes in common gardens over two seasons, monitoring growth, leaf morphology, and integrated water use efficiency (WUE) via delta(13)C.
- Employed alternative path models to analyze the direct and indirect effects of leaf traits on plant growth through WUE.
Main Results:
- Leaf area significantly affected growth only under wet conditions.
- Under dry conditions, plants with narrower leaves and higher trichome densities exhibited greater growth rates.
- Higher WUE correlated with increased growth during the dry season, mediated by leaf traits like smaller size, narrower shape, higher trichome density, and increased reflectance.
- Leaf traits influenced dry season growth primarily through their direct impact on WUE.
Conclusions:
- The ability to adjust leaf phenotypes, such as producing smaller, narrower leaves with higher trichome densities in response to drought, enhances water use efficiency (WUE).
- Phenotypic plasticity in leaf morphology is a key mechanism for increasing plant fitness in environments with fluctuating water availability.
- Appropriate changes in leaf traits during dry periods lead to improved WUE and overall growth, highlighting the adaptive significance of plasticity.
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