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Drought- and frost-induced accumulation of soluble carbohydrates during accelerated senescence in Quercus pubescens

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Abstract

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Different environmental conditions affect tree senescence by different patterns of carbohydrate concentrations and have specific impact on the dissection of the photosynthetic apparatus.

Abstract

A proactive cultivation of Mediterranean broadleaf species, including oaks, has been suggested to fill possible temporal and spatial gaps in forestry created by Climate Change in Central Europe in the future. Climate can affect trees in several different ways, e.g., by modulating the course of leaf senescence. Senescence-associated processes, like regulation of carbohydrates and changes in chlorophyll fluorescence under drought stress conditions were studied with leaf tissue of drought-tolerant downy oak (Quercus pubescens). Two months of consistent drought stress in a frost-free greenhouse led to significantly earlier senescence and significant increased amounts of soluble sugars in the leaves of the drought-stressed group in comparison to a well-watered control group. Similar sugar accumulation was observed in trees outdoors, after exposure to frost. In contrast to monocarpic plants the accumulation of free sugars is neither triggering leaf senescence, nor is it a side effect of age-depending changes in Q. pubescens. Instead, sugar accumulation is induced by abiotical factors, like drought and frost. Furthermore, we suggest that the senescence process in the absence of drought stress or frost depends on the source status of the leaf, which, in term, is a function of light (through photosynthesis) and night temperature (through respiration). Contents of the storage metabolite starch decreased during late summer in all three groups. Drought-stressed plants showed a decline of the connectivity of photosystem II antenna, reflected as the L-band in the chlorophyll fluorescence induction curves, and stronger correlations between the declines in the capacity of photosynthetic dark reactions and electron transport-associated chlorophyll fluorescence parameters. We conclude that the disassembly of single parts of the photosynthetic apparatus during leaf senescence is a uniform process, but the onset of this process depends on abiotical environmental factors.

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Abbreviations

A:

Net assimilation rate (under saturating CO2 and high light)

C:

Control(s)

CF:

Chlorophyll fluorescence

DOY:

Day of year

DS:

Drought stress(ed)

FW:

Fresh weight

PAR:

Photosynthetic active radiation

PS:

Photosystem

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Acknowledgments

The present study was financially supported by the research funding programme “LOEWE – Landes-Offensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz” of Hesse’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F) Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt, Germany

    Vera Holland, Stefan Koller & Wolfgang Brüggemann

  2. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University, Max-von Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany

    Vera Holland, Stefan Koller, Stefan Lukas & Wolfgang Brüggemann

Authors
  1. Vera Holland
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  2. Stefan Koller
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  3. Stefan Lukas
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  4. Wolfgang Brüggemann
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Correspondence to Vera Holland.

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Additional information

Communicated by U. Lüttge.

Electronic supplementary material

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ESM. 1

Soil water content and pre-dawn water potential of control and stress plants in the course of the drought stress experiment (mean ± SEM; n = 5). (TIFF 18582 kb)

ESM. 2

Senescence behaviour of 8 different oak taxa under natural conditions: concentration of soluble carbohydrates (black lines) and starch (black dotted line) in µmol hexose/g FW, the relative chl values (SPAD, deposited in grey) (DOY 242-329; n = 3, of pooled leaf samples, mean ± SD) and the minimum temperature 2 m above ground [°C]. (TIFF 109872 kb)

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Holland, V., Koller, S., Lukas, S. et al. Drought- and frost-induced accumulation of soluble carbohydrates during accelerated senescence in Quercus pubescens . Trees 30, 215–226 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1290-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-015-1290-4

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