Root plasticity of Populus euphratica seedlings in response to different water table depths and contrasting sediment types.

ABSTRACT: Riparian plants in arid regions face a highly variable water environment controlled by hydrological processes. To understand whether riparian plants adapt to such environments through plastic responses, we compared the root traits, biomass allocation and growth of Populus euphratica Oliv. Seedlings grown in lysimeters filled with clay or clay/river sand sediments under inundation and varying water table conditions. We hypothesized that adaptive phenotypic plasticity is likely to develop or be advantageous in seedlings of this species to allow them to adapt desert floodplain environments. Growth was significantly reduced by inundation. However, rather than following relatively fixed trait and allocation patterns, the seedlings displayed adaptive mechanisms involving the development of adven

SUBMITTER: Wang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4351201 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature