By means of meta-analyses we determined how 70 traits related to plant anatomy, morphology, chemistry, physiology, growth and reproduction are affected by daily light integral (DLI; mol photons m-2 d-1 ). A large database including 500 experiments with 760 plant species enabled us to determine generalized dose-response curves. Many traits increase with DLI in a saturating fashion. Some showed a more than 10-fold increase over the DLI range of 1-50 mol m-2 d-1 , such as the number of seeds produced per plant and the actual rate of photosynthesis. Strong decreases with DLI (up to three-fold) were observed for leaf area ratio and leaf payback time. Plasticity differences among species groups were generally small compared with the overall responses to DLI. However, for a number of traits, including photosynthetic capacity and realized growth, we found woody and shade-tolerant species to have lower plasticity. We further conclude that the direction and degree of trait changes adheres with responses to plant density and to vertical light gradients within plant canopies. This synthesis provides a strong quantitative basis for understanding plant acclimation to light, from molecular to whole plant responses, but also identifies the variables that currently form weak spots in our knowledge, such as respiration and reproductive characteristics.

https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.15754

A meta-analysis of plant responses to light intensity for 70 traits ranging from molecules to whole plant performance.

Reduction in size and tissue nutrient concentration is widely considered to increase seedling drought resistance in dry and oligotrophic plantation sites. However, much evidence indicates that increase in size and tissue nutrient concentration improves seedling survival in Mediterranean forest plantations. This suggests that the ecophysiological processes and functional attributes relevant for early seedling survival in Mediterranean climate must be reconsidered. We propose a ecophysiological conceptual model for seedling survival in Mediterranean-climate plantations to provide a physiological explanation of the frequent positive relationship between outplanting performance and seedling size and nutrient concentration. The model considers the physiological processes outlined in the plantation establishment model of Burdett (Can J For Res 20:415–427, 1990), but incorporates other physiological processes that drive seedling survival, such as N remobilization, carbohydrate storage and plant hydraulics. The model considers that seedling survival in Mediterranean climates is linked to high growth capacity during the wet season. The model is for container plants and is based on three main principles, (1) Mediterranean climates are not dry the entire year but usually have two seasons of contrasting water availability; (2) summer drought is the main cause of seedling mortality; in this context, deep and large roots is a key trait for avoiding lethal water stress; (3) attainment of large root systems in the dry season is promoted when seedlings have high growth during the wet season. High growth is achieved when seedlings can divert large amount of resources to support new root and shoot growth. Functional traits that confer high photosynthesis, nutrient remobilization capacity, and non-structural carbohydrate storage promote high growth. Increases in seedling size and nutrient concentration strongly affect these physiological processes. Traits that confer high drought resistance are of low value during the wet season because hinder growth capacity. We provide specific evidence to support the model and finally we discuss its implications and the factors that may alter the frequent increase in performance with increase in seedling size and tissue nutrient concentration.

/pdf/increase-in-size-and-nitrogen-concentration-enhances-2n1wq72bm4.pdf

Increase in size and nitrogen concentration enhances seedling survival in Mediterranean plantations. Insights from an ecophysiological conceptual model of plant survival

The distribution of plants is associated with their different patterns of response to their environment. Mediterranean plants have evolved a number of morphological and physiological adapta- tions that determine their ability to survive and grow, being an effective water uptake and use important factors for drought resistance. In this article, we evaluated interspecific differences in morphology, biomass allocation, and architectural traits and their relationship with water use strategies in seedlings of seven co-occurring Mediterranean species (Anthyllis cytisoides L., Genista scorpius L. DC., Myrtus com- munis L., Pistacia lentiscus L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Spartium junceum L. and Ulex parviflorus Pourr.). The results showed that morphological root features vary among species and they are significantly corre- lated with root hydraulic conductance and leaf gas exchange variables. Species with high specific root length (SRL) showed a low hydraulic conductance per root length (KRRL) but high specific hydraulic conduc- tance (KAs). M. communis and P. lentiscus showed the most contrasting water use patterns with respect to the other species studied. The results are not affected when considering phylogenetic relatedness. Thus, the vari- ability observed in root hydraulic properties and leaf gas exchange suggests important mechanisms for understanding species coexistence in water-limited ecosystems.

/pdf/morphological-traits-and-water-use-strategies-in-seedlings-10wzattvxk.pdf

Morphological traits and water use strategies in seedlings of Mediterranean coexisting species

Reforestation efforts in dryland ecosystems frequently encounter drought and limited soil productivity, although both factors usually interact synergistically to worsen water stress for outplanted seedlings. Land degradation in drylands (e.g. desertification) usually reduces soil productivity and, especially, soil water availability. In dry sub-humid regions, forest fires constitute a major disturbance affecting ecosystem dynamics and reforestation planning. Climate change projections indicate an increase of drought and more severe fire regime in many dryland regions of the world. In this context, the main target of plantation technology development is to overcome transplant shock and likely adverse periods, and in drylands this is mostly related to water limitations. In this paper, we discuss some selected steps that we consider critical for improving success in outplanting woody plants, both under current and projected climate change conditions including: (1) Plant species selection, (2) Improved nursery techniques, and (3) Improved planting techniques. The number of plant species used in reforestation is increasing rapidly, moving from a reduced set of well-known, easy-to-grow, widely used species, to a large variety of promising native species. Available technologies allow for reintroducing native plants and recovering critical ecosystem functions for many degraded drylands. However, climate change projections introduce large uncertainties about the sustainability of current reforestation practices. To cope with these uncertainties, adaptive restoration approaches are suggested, on the basis of improved plant quality, improved techniques for optimizing rain use efficiency in plantations, and exploring native plant species, including provenances and genotypes, for their resilience to fire and water use efficiency.

Perspectives in dryland restoration: approaches for climate change adaptation

Genus Quercus L. has been closely associated to humans throughout the history, with empirical evidences of such relationship before the appearance of Homo sapiens strictly speaking. Since then, mankind has obtained different basic resources from oaks, from acorns as food, charcoal for metal melting or wood as key material for different works. Such relation has been especially strong in some areas where oaks are considered as “tree of life” or “people’s species”. Moreover, the interest of scientists in the study of this genus has provided a lot of new discovers in different areas of the socalled plant sciences. Genus Quercus, comprising more than 400 species found throughout the Northern Hemisphere in a lot of contrasted habitats, have been the case study in many papers about taxonomy, palaeobotany, plant physiology or basic and applied ecology. This fact is summarized in this chapter, serving as a preface to this book. Mankind has established a close relationship with oaks, which are deeply rooted in the folklore, mythology or even religion of many human cultures (Ciesla 2002; Chassé 2016; Out 2017). In fact, Goren-Inbar et al. (2000) recovered Quercus sp. rests among the “edible species” found in the Acheulean (Middle Pleistocene, 780,000 years ago) archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (Israel). In a later study, Goren-Inbar et al. (2002) went beyond and suggested that hominins population that occupied this site during this period consumed acorns from Q. calliprinos and Q. ithaburensis. So, this evidence dates such relationship between oaks and “human” transcends our existence as Homo sapiens. The practise of acorn eating by human hunter-gatherer cultures has been well documented by archaeologists since the Palaeolithic (Cacho 1986; Chassé 2016). Many other archaeological evidences seem to indicate the importance of acorns eating for the survival of pre-Neolithic cultures of the eastern Mediterranean Basin E. Gil-Pelegrín (&) J. J. Peguero-Pina D. Sancho-Knapik Unidad de Recursos Forestales, Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón, Gobierno de Aragón, Avda, Montañana 930, 50059 Saragossa, Spain e-mail: egilp@cita-aragon.es © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 E. Gil-Pelegrín et al. (eds.), Oaks Physiological Ecology. Exploring the Functional Diversity of Genus Quercus L., Tree Physiology 7, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69099-5_1 1 (Natufian), living under a Mediterranean-type climate with associated oak woodlands (e.g. McCorriston 1994; Olszewski 2004). This dietary resource remained very important for sedentary cultures, as evidenced by many archaeological sites corresponding to Pre-Roman cultures of the Iberian Peninsula (Pereira-Sieso and García-Gómez 2002). Moreover, the consumption of acorns by people during famine moments, associated to poor harvests, is reported until the 18th century (García-Gómez et al. 2002). A well-known example of ancestral dependence on the resources offered by oaks is given also by the native cultures of southeastern USA (Fagan 2004). Anderson (2007) used the expression “bread of life” for acorns, due to their paramount importance for the indigenous diet of this region. However, this author went further when defined such relationship, since he also proposed the expression “tree of life” for oaks in their relation with these cultures due to the many other benefits they obtained from these trees. In the same direction, Long et al. (2016) proposed to consider Q. kelloggii as a “cultural keystone” species for the indigenous cultures of California and Oregon, in the sense that Garibaldi and Turner (2004) gave to this concept. These indigenous managed traditionally oak forests (Anderson 2005), even with the use of fire to control the dominance of conifers (Ciesla 2002; Anderson 2007), yielding a mutual benefit for humans and oaks, as part of their “traditional ecological knowledge” (Long et al. 2016). The use nowadays of different resources offered by Quercus species to the inhabitants in the “Middle Hills” of Central Himalaya (Shrestra et al. 2013) is another example of the complex dependence between oak woodlands and humans. The many resources that people obtains from these forest communities are so extent that Singh and Singh (1986) used the term “people’s species” for oaks living in this region, with a very special mention to the banj oak (Q. leucotrichophora). As is indicated by these authors, the oak woodlands in Central Himalaya offer different benefits for humans, such as forage for cattle, firewood, or compost from leaves to manure the crop fields. Moreover, at a landscape scale, the existence of oaks is clearly related to the amount and quality of spring water, besides the critical influence on soil conservation in a territory of high slopes. However, this complex relationship is fragile and the sustainability is dependent on the exploitation intensity. Shrestra et al. (2013) analysed the coexistence of oaks and humans in Nepal, with especial reference to the situation of Q. semecarpifolia stands. They indicated that, while the presence of humans in these “Middle Hills” of the Central Himalaya goes back several millennia, a severe increase in the Nepal population (due to growth and migration) during the last century has dealt to a sobreexplotation of these habitats, with negative effects on forest structure, regeneration and species diversity associated to these ecosystems (Christensen and Heilmann-Clausen 2009). The existence of a high disturbance due to human pressure on these forests has been also pointed out in other areas of the Central Himalaya, severely reducing the viability and the area of banj oak forests (Singh et al. 2014). In the Iberian Peninsula, a particular exploitation regime of the mediterranean woodlands is the development of cleared oak forests or savannah-like woodlands of Quercus ilex subsp. rotundifolia or Q. suber, constituting the so-called “dehesas” in 2 E. Gil-Pelegrín et al.

Oaks Physiological Ecology. Exploring the Functional Diversity of Genus Quercus L.

http://avilagrosa.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/0/5/2505656/hernndez_vilagrosa_etal_envirexperbot_2009.pdf

Root hydraulic conductance, gas exchange and leaf water potential in seedlings of Pistacia lentiscus L. and Quercus suber L. grown under different fertilization and light regimes

As the main forestry species in the Canary Islands (Spain), Pinus canariensis is frequently used in afforestation programs. Several nursery techniques are commonly employed to modify its morphology and physiology with the aim of improving post-planting survival and growth. In this work, we studied how fertilization and light regime treatments applied during the nursery period modify biomass allocation patterns and produce effects in gas exchange and root hydraulic conductance. Seedlings were grown for a 6-month period in the nursery under two light regimes (full sunlight and 40% PAR reduction), and three fertilization levels were applied in each light regime. Morphology, biomass allocation patterns, leaf gas exchange and hydraulic conductance of the whole root system were evaluated. Fertilization treatments produced significant changes in biomass allocation, gas exchange and root hydraulic conductance under both light regimes. In contrast, no differences were found between full sunlight and shade, except for a slight variation in the root:shoot ratio. Photosynthesis rate and WUE increased with fertilization in both light regimes, while E and gs maintained the same values. An opposite trend was observed for root hydraulic conductance, which showed lower values with high fertilization regimes. The results obtained indicate that fertilization is more important, determining high photosynthetic capacity than high hydraulic conductance rates before planting in Pinus canariensis containerized seedlings.

Differences in morphology, gas exchange and root hydraulic conductance before planting in Pinus canariensis seedlings growing under different fertilization and light regimes

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Root hydraulic conductance, gas exchange and leaf water potential in seedlings of Pistacia lentiscus L. and Quercus suber L. grown under different fertilization and light regimes

Differences in morphology, gas exchange and root hydraulic conductance before planting in Pinus canariensis seedlings growing under different fertilization and light regimes