Effect of imposed drought on seedlings growth, water use efficiency and survival of three arid zone species (Acacia tortilis subsp raddiana, Salvadora persica and Leptadenia pyrotechnica)

Abstract

Survival of seedlings in arid zone plantation is strongly affected by water stress and drought conditions. Many tree species are able to develop adaptive mechanisms in response to drought stress. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of imposed drought stress on seedlings growth, water use efficiency and survival of three arid zone species (Acacia tortilis subsp raddiana, Salvadora persica and Leptadenia pyrotechnica). Three successive drought cycles were imposed, to a five months old seedlings of the three species. At the end of the drought cycles treatment, water was withheld from both well watered and stressed seedlings and survival was counted until all seedlings wilted out. Growth traits and WUE were measured in drought treated and untreated seedlings.The results showed that imposed drought stress enhanced adaptive traits on these seedlings resulting in better survival. Drought treatment significantly reduced growth traits and WUE in the three species and increased root to shoot ratio and survival. The results pointed out that drought stress conditioning enhanced adaptive traits for these species. However, response was varied among species. S. persica showed better growth than A. tortilis and L. pyrotechnica, alternatively survival was better in A. tortilis and L. pyrotechnica than S. Persica. These results may suggest that in severe drought-prone sites A. tortilis and L. pyrotechnica are preferred.

Effect of water stress on growth and dry matter distribution of four dryland species used in tree planting in the Sahel

“…The high below-ground biomass production obtained for S. gourmaensis could be interpreted as a strategy to maximize absorptive root surfaces and increase the water and nutrient uptake rate. Total dry weight of all studied plant species was reduced in water stress, with more reductions in the severe water stress treatments, except for V. nilotica, as also reported in other findings (Elfeel and Mohamed, 2011).…”

“…Similar results were reported on three plants adapted to arid environments (Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana, Salvadora persica and Leptadenia pyrotechnica), confirming that drought stress negatively affects seedling growth (Elfeel and Mohamed, 2011).…”

Ecophysiological Responses of Acacia raddiana savi and Acacia nilotica (L.) During Seedling Establishment in Extreme Arid Conditions

“…The reduction of drought stress related to stomatal closure in response to low soil water content, which leads to the minimized of intake of CO 2 (Chaves, 1991;Cornic, 2000;Flexas et al, 2004;Ahmad et al, 2011). Plants in arid environments have developed physiological mechanisms to resist drought stress (Fahmy & Ouf, 1999;Kozlowski & Pallardy, 2002;Elfeel & Al-namo, 2011).…”

Γενετική Ποικιλότητα Της Οξιάς Σε Προσαρμοστικούς Χαρακτήρες

“…Το αυξητικό δυναμικό έχει ιδιαίτερη σημασία ως χαρακτήρας προσαρμογής των εκπτυχθέντων φυταρίων, καθώς από αυτό εξαρτάται άμεσα η επιβίωση των απογόνων ενός φυτικού είδους (Elfeel & Al-Namo, 2011). Το ύψος και η συνολική βιομάζα αποτελεί έναν πολύ καλό δείκτη εκτίμησης της παραγωγικής ικανότητας των φυταρίων κάτω από διαφορετικές περιβαλλοντικές συνθήκες (Elfeel & Al-Namo, 2011).…”

“…Το αυξητικό δυναμικό έχει ιδιαίτερη σημασία ως χαρακτήρας προσαρμογής των εκπτυχθέντων φυταρίων, καθώς από αυτό εξαρτάται άμεσα η επιβίωση των απογόνων ενός φυτικού είδους (Elfeel & Al-Namo, 2011). Το ύψος και η συνολική βιομάζα αποτελεί έναν πολύ καλό δείκτη εκτίμησης της παραγωγικής ικανότητας των φυταρίων κάτω από διαφορετικές περιβαλλοντικές συνθήκες (Elfeel & Al-Namo, 2011). Έτσι η μέτρηση της ξηρής βιομάζας ξεχωριστά για κάθε τμήμα των αρτιφύτρων και ο υπολογισμός της εκατοστιαίας αναλογίας τους ως προς τη συνολική ξηρή βιομάζα, μπορεί να αποδείξει την ύπαρξη διαφορετικών προτύπων κατανομής κάτω από την επίδραση περιβαλλοντικών παραγόντων (Erice et al, 2010).…”