Quantifying key model parameters for wheat leaf gas exchange under different environmental conditions

The maximum carboxylation rate of Rubisco(V_(cmax)) and maximum rate of electron transport(J_(max)) for the biochemical photosynthetic model, and the slope(m) of the Ball-Berry stomatal conductance model influence gas exchange estimates between plants and the atmosphere. However, there is limited data on the variation of these three parameters for annual crops under different environmental conditions. Gas exchange measurements of light and CO_2 response curves on leaves of winter wheat and spring wheat were conducted during the wheat growing season under different environmental conditions. There were no significant differences for V_(cmax), J_(max) or m between the two wheat types. The seasonal variation of V_(cmax), J_(max) and m for spring wheat was not pronounced, except a rapid decrease for V_(cmax) and J_(max) at the end of growing season. V_(cmax) and J_(max) show no significant changes during soil drying until light saturated stomatal conductance(gssat) was smaller than 0.15 mol m~(–2) s~(–1). Meanwhile, there was a significant difference in m during two different water supply conditions separated by gssat at 0.15 mol m~(–2) s~(–1). Furthermore, the misestimation of V_(cmax) and J_(max) had great impacts on the net photosynthesis rate simulation, whereas, the underestimation of m resulted in underestimated stomatal conductance and transpiration rate and an overestimation of water use efficiency. Our work demonstrates that the impact of severe environmental conditions and specific growing stages on the variation of key model parameters should be taken into account for simulating gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. Meanwhile, modification of m and V_(cmax)(and J_(max)) successively based on water stress severity might be adopted to simulate gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere under drought.     

Nutritional and mineral content of prickly pear cactus: A highly water‐use efficient forage,fodder and food species

Increased demand for food requires us to investigate livestock forage and fodder crops that can be grown over a wide range of locations where their cultivation will not compete with that of the food supply. A large portion of the southwestern United States consists of underutilized semi‐arid land. Crops typically used for livestock fodder or forage have high‐water demands that make them uneconomical or unsustainable for semi‐arid and arid regions. The growth rate and low‐input requirements of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus‐indica) make it an excellent candidate for forage or fodder supplementation or replacement in these regions. Previous reports about forage quality data on Opuntia have been scattered across multiple locations, growing conditions and cultivars. Here, we report on the forage quality and mineral content of Opuntia ficus‐indica grown under both field and greenhouse conditions. Crude protein was 71 and 264 g/kg of dry mass for field and greenhouse conditions, respectively. Field‐grown plants showed higher acid and neutral detergent fibre content than greenhouse‐grown plants reflecting higher cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin accumulation. Nutritional values were also compared to requirements of cattle to determine what deficiencies might need to be addressed through supplementation. These data suggest that Opuntia can be used in combination with other feed sources to reduce the demand of resource‐intensive forage crops for raising livestock in dryland areas.     

外源褪黑素对烟草幼苗抗旱性生理机制的影响

为研究喷施外源褪黑素对烟草幼苗不同程度干旱胁迫条件下的影响效应。以烟草幼苗为试验材料，探究喷施100 μmol·L-1外源褪黑素对干旱胁迫下幼苗的生长、光合特性、抗氧化酶活性以及渗透调节物质含量的影响。结果表明，干旱严重影响植物生长，喷施褪黑素缓解了干旱胁迫造成的植株生长抑制，并通过提高叶片叶绿素含量和净光合速率（Pn）、气孔导度（Gs）、蒸腾速率（Tr），降低胞间CO2浓度（Ci），同时增强超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）、过氧化物酶（POD）、过氧化氢酶（CAT）的活性，减少O-2和丙二醛（MDA）的含量，显著增加渗透调节物质的积累，以提高烟草幼苗的抗干旱胁迫能力，结果为褪黑素对烟草幼苗的抗旱性影响机理提供依据。     

PEG胁迫下春小麦萌发期抗旱指标的遗传力

为探索干旱胁迫对春小麦萌发期生长的影响,筛选春小麦萌发期抗旱性指标。以宁夏灌区和雨养区的2种粒色（红皮和白皮）40份春小麦的抗旱品系为试验材料,研究PEG-6000模拟干旱胁迫对胚根长、胚根数、胚芽鞘长和一叶长的影响。利用广义遗传力分析法,筛选春小麦萌发期抗旱性指标。胚根长的广义遗传力最高,均大于0.55,遗传力的控制程度稳定。雨养区的红粒种子胚根长的遗传力高达0.95;雨养区的红粒种子的胚芽鞘长的广义遗传力最高,达0.94,但其遗传力控制程度不稳定,最低遗传力仅为0.06;胚根数和一叶长的遗传力很低,且控制程度极不稳定。春小麦萌发期胚根长的广义遗传力最高,控制程度稳定。其次是胚芽鞘长,但其遗传力的控制程度不稳定。胚根长可作为春小麦萌发期的抗旱指标鉴定抗旱材料,以胚芽鞘的长度为参考值。     

芝麻不同生育阶段需水特性与干旱灌溉应用研究

探讨芝麻不同生育阶段需水特性与干旱灌溉水分生产效率,为芝麻高产栽培的合理灌溉和水分管理提供科学依据,2013-2018年在安徽、新疆等不同地域,选用6个芝麻主栽品种,开展芝麻不同生育阶段需水特性和灌溉水利用研究。结果表明：盆栽芝麻的全生育期蒸腾需水量平均为283.59mm,品种间差异大,形成100kg芝麻籽粒蒸腾需水量为263.56mm(175.7t/666.7m²),苗期、蕾期、初花期、盛花期、终花期、成熟期的蒸腾需水量分别为18.76mm、21.91mm、21.03mm、149.28mm、71.21mm和34.79mm,蒸腾模系数为5.89%、7.21%、6.85%、47.07%、23.93%和9.05%；盛花期最大,出苗期最小。池栽芝麻全生育期需水量531.36mm,其中株间蒸发量、蒸腾量分别占全生育期需水量的46.1%和53.9%；株间蒸发量最大的时期为苗期；蒸腾量最大的时期为花期。芝麻苗期、花期和成熟期需水模系数平均为18.65%、66.79%和14.56%。合肥基地出苗期、临泉基地花期遇旱喷灌,水分生产效率高达0.61kg/m³和0.65kg/m³；新疆精河基地按需滴灌处理比传统滴灌方式的水分生产效率提高43.28%,节水19.61%,这对水资源匮乏的新疆干旱区来说意义重大。芝麻需水量与栽培条件、品种、气温(r＝0.99)等密切相关。在芝麻不同生育阶段遇旱灌溉是提高水分生产效率和产量的关键措施之一。     

Variation and heritability of morphological and physiological traits among Leymus chinensis genotypes under different environmental conditions

Intraspecific trait variation and heritability in different environmental conditions not only suggest a potential for an evolutionary response but also have important ecological consequences at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. However, the contribution of quantitative trait variation within a grassland species to evolutionary responses or ecological consequences is seldom documented. Leymus chinensis is an important dominant species in semi-arid grasslands of China, which has seriously suffered from drought and high temperature stresses in recent decades. In the present study, we measured variation and heritability of 10 quantitative traits, namely the number of tillers, maximum shoot height, number of rhizomes, maximum rhizome length, rhizome mass, aboveground mass, root mass, maximum net photosynthetic rate(Pmax), specific leaf area(SLA), and leaf length to leaf width ratio(LL/LW), for 10 genotypes of L. chinensis under one non-stress(Ck) condition and three environmental stress conditions(i.e., drought(Dr), high temperature(Ht), and both drought and high temperature(DrHt)). Result indicated that(1) the interaction of genotype and environmental condition(G×E) was significant for 6 traits but not significant for the other 4 traits as shown by two-way analysis of variance(ANOVA), suggesting that different selection forces were placed for different traits on the factors dominating phenotypic responses to different environmental conditions. Moreover, these significant G×E effects on traits indicated significantly different phenotypic adaptive responses among L. chinensis genotypes to different environmental conditions. Additionally, individuals could be grouped according to environmental condition rather than genotype as shown by canonical discriminant analysis, indicating that environmental condition played a more important role in affecting phenotypic variation than genotype;(2) by one-way ANOVA, significant differences among L. chinensis genotypes were found in all 10 traits under Ck and Dr conditions, in 8 traits under Dr Ht condition and only in 4 traits under Ht condition; and(3) all 10 traits showed relatively low or non-measurable broad-sense heritability(H_2) under stress conditions. However, the lowest H_2 value for most traits did not occur under DrHt condition, which supported the hypothesis of 'unfavorable conditions have unpredictable effects' rather than 'unfavorable conditions decrease heritability'. Results from our experiment might aid to improve predictions on the potential impacts of climate changes on L. chinensis and eventually species conservation and ecosystem restoration.     

Effects of water stress and NaCl stress on different life cycle stages of the cold desert annual Lachnoloma lehmannii in China

For a plant species to complete its life cycle in arid and saline environments, each stage of the life cycle must be tolerant to the harsh environmental conditions. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of water stress (water potentials of -0.05, -0.16, -0.33, -0.56, -0.85 and -1.21 MPa) and NaCl stress (50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 mmol/L NaCl) on seed germination percentage, seedling survival and growth, juvenile growth and plant reproduction of Lachnoloma lehmannii Bunge (Brassicaceae), an cold desert annual that grows in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, China in 2010. Results indicated that low water stress (-0.05 and -0.16 MPa) had no significant effect on seed germination percentage. With a decrease in water potential, germination percentage decreased, and no seeds germinated at -0.85 and -1.21 MPa water stresses. Germination percentage of seeds was significantly affected by NaCl stress, and higher germination percentages were observed under non-saline than saline conditions. An increase in NaCl concentrations progressively inhibited seed germination percentage, and no seeds germinated at ≥400 mmol/L NaCl concentration. Non-germinated seeds were transferred from both PEG (polyethylene glycol-6000) and NaCl solutions to distilled water for seed germination recovery. The number of surviving seedlings and their heights and root lengths significantly decreased as NaCl stress increased. About 30% of the plants survived and produced fruits/seeds at 200 mmol/L NaCl concentration. Thus, seed germination, seedling establishment and reproductive stage in the life cycle of L. lehmannii are water- and salt-tolerant, with seedlings being the least tolerant. These tolerances help explain why this species can survive and produce seeds in arid and saline habitats.     

Responses in gross primary production of Stipa krylovii and Allium polyrhizum to a temporal rainfall in a temperate grassland of Inner Mongolia,China

In the arid and semi-arid areas of China, rainfall and drought affect the growth and photosynthetic activities of plants. Gross primary productivity (GPP) is one of the most important indices that measure the photosynthetic ability of plants. This paper focused on the GPP of two representative grassland species (Stipa krylovii Roshev. and Allium polyrhizum Turcz. ex Regel) to demonstrate the effect of a temporal rainfall on the two species. Our research was conducted in a temperate grassland in New Barag Right Banner, Hulun Buir City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, in a dry year 2015. We measured net ecosystem productivity (NEP) and ecosystem respiration flux (ER) using a transparent chamber system and monitored the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), air and soil temperature and humidity simultaneously. Based on the measured values of NEP and ER, we calculated the GPP of the two species before and after the rainfall. The saturated GPP per aboveground biomass (GPP_AGB) of A. polyrhizum remarkably increased from 0.033 (±0.018) to 0.185 (±0.055) μmol CO₂/(gdw?s) by 5.6-fold and that of S. krylovii decreased from 0.068 (±0.021) to 0.034 (±0.011) μmol CO₂/(gdw?s) by 0.5-fold on the 1^st and 2^nd d after a 9.1 mm rainfall event compared to the values before the rainfall at low temperatures below 35°C. However, on the 1^st and 2^nd d after the rainfall, both of the saturated GPP_AGB values of S. krylovii and A. polyrhizum were significantly lower at high temperatures above 35°C (0.018 (±0.007) and 0.110 (±0.061) μmol CO₂/(gdw?s), respectively) than at low temperatures below 35°C (0.034 (±0.011) and 0.185 (±0.055) μmol CO₂/(gdw?s), respectively). The results showed that the GPP responses to the temporal rainfall differed between S. krylovii and A. polyrhizum and strongly negative influenced by temperature. The temporal rainfall seems to be more effective on the GPP of A. polyrhizum than S. krylovii. These differences might be related to the different physiological and structural features, the coexistence of the species and their species-specific survival strategies.     

杜仲杂种优良无性系抗旱性间接评价

以7个杜仲无性系22-22、2-23、4-30、17-17、2-32、6-30、5-152和2个对照品种（无性系）秦仲2号（Qinzhong No.2）、龙拐（Longguai）为对象，以其2年生嫁接苗成熟叶片为材料，采用常规石蜡切片法研究叶片解剖结构、扫描电镜技术观察气孔结构和压力室技术测定水分生理指标，用主成分分析法筛选主要指标，用隶属函数法对各无性系抗旱性进行对比分析。结果表明，共筛选出栅栏组织厚度、原初渗透势、气孔开度、厚角组织厚度4项主要指标，12项解剖结构参数、5项水分生理指数和5项气孔参数，均在无性系间差异显著，无性系抗旱性排序为:6-30>4-30>龙拐>秦仲2号>17-17>5-152>22-22>2-23>2-32。研究结果可对进一步筛选杜仲优良无性系提供参考依据。