Physiological and morphological effects of different canopy densities on reintroduced Acer catalpifolium

doi:10.17520/biods.2019190

Abstract

Abstract:

The reintroduction of an endangered plant is an effective way to increase its wild plant populations. Suitable habitat is a necessary condition for reintroduced species to survive. Studying the adaptability of a plant’s physiology to different habitats prior to reintroduction is key for evaluating how successful the endangered species would be in each habitat. In this study, Acer catalpifolium, a Wild Plant with Extremely Small Populations (WPESP), was studied to explore the effects of habitat conditions on the morphological traits, photosynthetic characteristics, flavonoid index and chlorophyll contents of A. catalpifolium seedlings. The habitat conditions, no shading, forest edge, gap and understory, are ordered in a gradient from low to high canopy density. The results show that: (1) The change in canopy density correlated with the differences in base diameter, crown width and number of new branches. (2) The maximum single leaf area and single leaf mass were found in the forest edge habitat, and the specific leaf area increased as canopy density increased. (3) With increasing canopy density, intercellular CO₂ concentration, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance of A. catalpifolium showed an initial decrease before increasing. In contrast, the flavonoid index showed an initial increase before decreasing. Chlorophyll content showed a consistent upward trend. In summary, the light conditions of forest edge habitat make it more suitable than the other habitats in this study for the reintroduction of A. catalpifolium. This study establishes a theoretical and practical basis for field reintroductions of A. catalpifolium, and provides significant guidance for exploring suitable habitat for the reintroduction of other Wild Plant with Extremely Small Populations.

Key words: Acer catalpifolium, reintroduction in the wild, canopy density, morphological indicators, physiological indicators

Yuyang Zhang, Tao Yu, Wenbao Ma, Fei Wang, Cheng Tian, Junqing Li. Physiological and morphological effects of different canopy densities on reintroduced Acer catalpifolium[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2020, 28(3): 323-332.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.17520/biods.2019190

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2020/V28/I3/323

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Effects of different light conditions on plant height of Acer catalpifolium

Fig. 2 Effects of different light conditions on the basis of diameter of Acer catalpifolium.

Fig. 3 Effects of different light conditions on crown of Acer catalpifolium. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Fig. 4 Effects of different light conditions on number of newly stretched branches of Acer catalpifolium. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Table 1 Effects of different light conditions on leaf characteristics of Acer catalpifolium

	无遮荫 No shading	林缘 Forest edge	林隙 Gap	林下 Understory
叶面积 Leaf area (mm²)	4,602.43 ± 891.16^a	9,634.17 ± 2,409.41^b	6,443.71 ± 2,652.62^ab	5,012.54 ± 1,391.37^a
单叶质量 Single blade mass (g)	0.30 ± 0.049^a	0.67 ± 0.38^b	0.26 ± 0.14^a	0.19 ± 0.05^a
比叶面积 Specific leaf area (cm²/g)	150.71 ± 11.10^a	212.58 ± 80.39^b	266.50 ± 52.15^c	263.01 ± 12.47^bc

Fig. 5 Effects of different light conditions on photosynthetic characteristics of Acer catalpifolium. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Fig. 6 Effects of different light conditions on chlorophyll content of Acer catalpifolium. Different letters indicate significant differences (P < 0.05).

Table 2 Effects of different light conditions on polyphenols of Acer catalpifolium

	类黄酮指数 Flavonoids index	花青素指数 Anthocyanin index
无遮荫 No shading	2.26 ± 0.023^a	0.19 ± 0.00098^a
林缘 Forest edge	2.63 ± 0.045^b	0.17 ± 0.0031^b
林隙 Gap	2.46 ± 0.045^c	0.20 ± 0.0024^c
林下 Understory	2.57 ± 0.075^b	0.13 ± 0.0031^d

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