Variation in climatic tolerance, but not stomatal traits, partially explains Pooideae grass species distributions.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Grasses in subfamily Pooideae live in some of the world's harshest terrestrial environments, from frigid boreal zones to the arid windswept steppe. It is hypothesized that the climate distribution of species within this group is driven by differences in climatic tolerance, and that tolerance can be partially explained by variation in stomatal traits.

Methods

We determined the aridity index (AI) and minimum temperature of the coldest month (MTCM) for 22 diverse Pooideae accessions and one outgroup, and used comparative methods to assess predicted relationships for climate traits versus fitness traits, stomatal diffusive conductance to water (gw) and speed of stomatal closure following drought and/or cold.

Key results

Results demonstrate that AI and

SUBMITTER: Das A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8318108 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature