Ecophysiology of Prosopis Species From the Arid Lands of Argentina: What Do We Know About Adaptation to Stressful Environments?

Does land use change alter water and nutrient dynamics of phreatophytic trees in the Central Monte desert?

“…flexuosa trees in the Ñacuñán Biosphere Reserve (Cavagnaro and Passera, ) and the interdune valleys of the Telteca Natural Reserve (Giordano et al ., ) was relatively independent of the amount of summer rainfall. In contrast, growth of adult individuals in dune flanks, disconnected from groundwater, was strongly dependent on summer rainfall (Villagra et al ., ; Giordano et al ., ). Stable isotope composition of xylem water, groundwater and precipitation evidence that adult P .…”

Water status, drought responses, and growth of Prosopis flexuosa trees with different access to the water table in a warm South American desert

“…Despite the ecological and economic importance of Prosopis species, information about their water use and drought responses to surface and groundwater availability in arid South America is scarce (Mooney et al 1980;Villagra and Cavagnaro 2006;Villagra et al 2010) compared to the information on Prosopis species from North American deserts (e.g., Nilsen et al 1984;Ansley et al 1992;Stromberg et al 1992;Resco et al 2009). It has been suggested that receiving less than 350 mm mean annual rainfall P. flexuosa needs access to constantly saturated soil water reservoirs (Morello 1958;González Loyarte et al 2000).…”

The role of ecophysiological studies in the genus Prosopis: implications for the conservation of drought-prone species

“…This information will be important for accurate predictions of environmental stress or climate change scenarios that might affect desert agroforestry ecosystems (Magrin et al, 1997). Stresses caused by drought and frosts lead to the dehydration of plant cells, which might have a direct impact on the reproductive behavior of species in arid and semiarid climates (Villagra et al, 2010). Furthermore, the resistance strategies of plants in arid and semi-arid climates involve certain morphological and physiological characteristics that may be common, such as osmotic adjustment.…”

“…Furthermore, the resistance strategies of plants in arid and semi-arid climates involve certain morphological and physiological characteristics that may be common, such as osmotic adjustment. Defensive systems against drought stress involve changes in gas exchange, leaf area, the opening of stomata and osmotic adjustment (Delatorre et al, 2008;Lehner et al, 2001;Villagra et al, 2010). The xylem has been described as the main channel for transporting water and nutrients from the roots to the crown, and traditionally parameters relating to gas exchange such as stomatal conductance have been reported as the main factors regulating water flux (Sperry, 2011).…”