Response of chaparral shrubs to below-freezing temperatures: acclimation, ecotypes, seedlings vs. adults

Leaf death due to freezing was examined for four, co-occurring species of chaparral shrubs from the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California, Rhus laurina (= Malosma laurina), R. ovata, Ceanothus megacarpus, and C. spinosus. Measurements were made on seedlings vs. adults for all species, and for Rhus spp. in winter vs. summer, and at a warm vs. a cold site. We used four methods to determine the temperature for 50% change in activity or cell death (LT(50)) of leaves: (1) electrical conductivity (electrolyte leakage into a bathing solution), (2) photosynthetic fluorescent capacity (Fv/Fm), (3) percentage of palisade mesophyll cells stained by fluorescein diacetate vital stain, and (4) visual score of leaf color (Munsell color chart). In all four species seedlings were found to be more sensitive to freezing temperatures than were adults by 1°-3°C. For adults the LT(50) ranged from -5°C for Rhus laurina in the summer to -16°C for Rhus ovata in the winter. The LT(50) of R. ovata located at a colder inland site was 4C lower than R. ovata at the warmer coastal site just 4 km apart, suggesting ecotypic differences between R. ovata at the two sites. Both R. laurina and R. ovata underwent significant winter hardening. At the cold site, R. ovata acclimated by 6°C on average, while R. laurina acclimated by only 3°C. These results were consistent with species distributions and with field observations of differential shoot dieback between these two congeneric species after a natural freeze-thaw event in the Santa Monica Mountains.