Sanna Susiluoto , Frank Berninger

Interactions between morphological and physiological drought responses in Eucalyptus microtheca

Susiluoto S., Berninger F. (2007). Interactions between morphological and physiological drought responses in Eucalyptus microtheca. Silva Fennica vol. 41 no. 2 article id 292. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.292

Abstract

We studied the response of Eucalyptus microtheca to drought in a greenhouse experiment. As a result of the drought the growth of the seedlings decreased and allocation patterns changed so that allocation to the roots increased. However, changes in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance under drought were rather modest. We showed, using chlorophyll fluorescence and measurements of photosynthesis under high CO₂ that the biochemical capacity of photosynthesis increased under drought. The results suggest that changes in root/shoot ratio are the primary reactions that initiate a series of compensatory reactions that mitigate the effects of drought in Eucalyptus microtheca.

Keywords
photosynthesis; chlorophyll fluorescence; root/shoot ratio; RuBP; xylem permeability

Received 18 November 2005 Accepted 8 February 2007 Published 31 December 2007

Views 2996

Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.292 | Download PDF