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D'Andrea E, Scartazza A, Battistelli A, Collalti A, Proietti S, Rezaie N, Matteucci G, Moscatello S. Unravelling resilience mechanisms in forests: role of non-structural carbohydrates in responding to extreme weather events. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 41:1808-1818. [PMID: 33823054 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpab044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity due to global climate change. We hypothesized that tree carbon reserves are crucial for resilience of beech, buffering the source-sink imbalance due to late frosts and summer droughts, and that different components of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) play specific roles in coping with stressful situations. To assess the compound effects on mature trees of two extreme weather events, first a late frost in spring 2016 and then a drought in summer 2017, we monitored the phenology, radial growth and the dynamics of starch and soluble sugars in a Mediterranean beech forest. A growth reduction of 85% was observed after the spring late frost, yet not after the drought event. We observed a strong impact of late frost on starch, which also affected its dynamic at the beginning of the subsequent vegetative season. In 2017, the increase of soluble sugars, associated with starch hydrolysis, played a crucial role in coping with the severe summer drought. Non-structural carbohydrates helped to counteract the negative effects of both events, supporting plant survival and buffering source-sink imbalances under stressful conditions. Our findings indicate a strong trade-off between growth and NSC storage in trees. Overall, our results highlight the key role of NSCs on beech trees, response to extreme weather events, confirming the resilience of this species to highly stressful events. These insights are useful for assessing how forests may respond to the potential impacts of climate change on ecosystem processes in the Mediterranean area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore D'Andrea
- Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), P. le Enrico Fermi 1 - Loc. Porto del Granatello, 80055 Portici, Naples, Italy
| | - Andrea Scartazza
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRET), Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Battistelli
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRET), via Marconi 2, 05010 Porano, Terni, Italy
| | - Alessio Collalti
- Forest Modelling Laboratory, Institute for Agriculture and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAFOM), Via Madonna Alta 128, 06128 Perugia, Italy
- Department of Innovation in Biological, Agro-food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), University of Tuscia, via San Camillo de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
| | - Simona Proietti
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRET), via Marconi 2, 05010 Porano, Terni, Italy
| | - Negar Rezaie
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRET), via Marconi 2, 05010 Porano, Terni, Italy
| | - Giorgio Matteucci
- Institute for BioEconomy, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IBE), via Madonna del Piano, 10 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Stefano Moscatello
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRET), via Marconi 2, 05010 Porano, Terni, Italy
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Moscatello S, Proietti S, Augusti A, Scartazza A, Walker RP, Famiani F, Battistelli A. Late summer photosynthesis and storage carbohydrates in walnut (Juglans regia L.): Feed-back and feed-forward effects. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY : PPB 2017; 118:618-626. [PMID: 28802240 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2017.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/28/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The effect of late summer - autumn limitation of phloem export on growth, photosynthesis and storage carbohydrate accumulation, was evaluated in walnut (Juglans regia L.). This was done by girdling current years shoots, with either all or with only a third of the leaves left in place. Nineteen days after girdling, photosynthesis was greatly reduced and after 46 days, it was about 70% lower in both girdling treatments compared to the control (ungirdled shoots). This reduction is consistent with a feed-back effect of an increased carbohydrate content of the leaves. At the end of the experiment (46 days after girdling), the radial growth of girdled shoots was increased at their base but not at their apical part compared to the control. Girdling increased the accumulation of sucrose in the bark at the base of the shoot and of starch in the bark and in the wood of the shoot apical part. The activity of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase in wood increased in the apical part of girdled shoots. The results suggest that a high availability of carbohydrates elicits a feed-forward action on the shoot sink size and activity (radial growth and storage carbohydrate accumulation). Further, for the first time in tree wood we found an increased total activity of AGP induced by an increased assimilate availability. Moreover, the results indicated that, in late summer - autumn, CO2 uptake by leaves of the deciduous tree walnut is strongly dependent on export of photosynthates from the crown. Therefore, carbon uptake in this period depends largely on the availability of effective storage sinks where newly produced assimilates can be accumulated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Moscatello
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010, Porano, TR, Italy
| | - Simona Proietti
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010, Porano, TR, Italy
| | - Angela Augusti
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010, Porano, TR, Italy
| | - Andrea Scartazza
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010, Porano, TR, Italy; Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Salaria km 29,300, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo, RM, Italy
| | - Robert P Walker
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06100 Perugia, Italy
| | - Franco Famiani
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06100 Perugia, Italy
| | - Alberto Battistelli
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010, Porano, TR, Italy.
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Scartazza A, Moscatello S, Matteucci G, Battistelli A, Brugnoli E. Combining stable isotope and carbohydrate analyses in phloem sap and fine roots to study seasonal changes of source-sink relationships in a Mediterranean beech forest. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 2015; 35:829-39. [PMID: 26093372 DOI: 10.1093/treephys/tpv048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/09/2015] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Carbon isotope composition (δ(13)C) and carbohydrate content of phloem sap and fine roots were measured in a Mediterranean beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forest throughout the growing season to study seasonal changes of source-sink relationships. Seasonal variations of δ(13)C and content of phloem sap sugars, collected during the daylight period, reflected the changes in soil and plant water status. The correlation between δ(13)C and content of phloem sap sugars, collected from plants belonging to different social classes, was significantly positive only during the driest month of July. In this month, δ(13)C of phloem sap sugars was inversely related to the increment of trunk radial growth and positively related to δ(13)C of fine roots. We conclude that the relationship between δ(13)C and the amount of phloem sap sugars is affected by a combination of causes, such as sink strength, tree social class, changes in phloem anatomy and transport capacity, and phloem loading of sugars to restore sieve tube turgor following the reduced plant water potential under drought conditions. However, δ(13)C and sugar composition of fine roots suggested that phloem transport of leaf sucrose to this belowground component was not impaired by mild drought and that sucrose was in a large part allocated towards fine roots in July, depending on tree social class. Hence, fine roots could represent a functional carbon sink during the dry seasonal periods, when transport and use of assimilates in other sink tissues are reduced. These results indicate a strict link between above- and belowground processes and highlight a rapid response of this Mediterranean forest to changes in environmental drivers to regulate source-sink relationships and carbon sink capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Scartazza
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Salaria km 29,300, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo (RM), Italy Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010 Porano (TR), Italy
| | - Stefano Moscatello
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010 Porano (TR), Italy
| | - Giorgio Matteucci
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Salaria km 29,300, 00016 Monterotondo Scalo (RM), Italy Istituto per i Sistemi Agricoli e Forestali del Mediterraneo (ISAFoM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Cavour 4/6, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy
| | - Alberto Battistelli
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010 Porano (TR), Italy
| | - Enrico Brugnoli
- Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (IBAF), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Viale G. Marconi 2, 05010 Porano (TR), Italy Present address: Dipartimento Scienze del Sistema Terra e Tecnologie per l'Ambiente, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Piazzale Aldo Moro 7, 00185 Roma (RM), Italy
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