Short-term physiological plasticity: Trade-off between drought and recovery responses in three Mediterranean Cistus species

4 years ago

Short-term physiological plasticity: Trade-off between drought and recovery responses in three Mediterranean Cistus species

Laura Varone, Loretta Gratani, Alessandra Spoletini, Rosangela Catoni, Giacomo Puglielli

Short-term physiological plasticity allows plants to thrive in highly variable environments such as the Mediterranean ecosystems. In such context, plants that maximize physiological performance under favorable conditions, such as Cistus spp., are generally reported to have a great cost in terms of plasticity (i.e., a high short-term physiological plasticity) due to the severe reduction of physiological performance when stress factors occur. However, Cistus spp. also show a noticeable resilience ability in response to stress factors. We hypothesized that in Cistus species the short-term physiological response to stress and that to subsequent recovery can show a positive trade-off to offset the costs of the photosynthetic decline under drought. Gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, and water relations were measured in C. salvifolius, C. monspeliensis, and C. creticus subsp. eriocephalus during an imposed experimental drought and subsequent recovery. Plants were grown outdoor in common garden conditions from seeds of different provenances. The short-term physiological response to stress and that to recovery were quantified via phenotypic plasticity index (PIstress and PIrecovery, respectively). A linear regression analysis was used to identify the hypothesized trade-off PIstress–PIrecovery. Accordingly, we found a positive trade-off between PIstress and PIrecovery, which was consistent across species and provenances. This result contributes in explaining the profit, more than the cost, of a higher physiological plasticity in response to short-term stress imposition for Cistus spp because the costs of a higher PIstress are payed back by an as much higher PIrecovery. The absence of leaf shedding during short-term drought supports this view. The trade-off well described the relative variations of gas exchange and water relation parameters. Moreover, the results were in accordance with the ecology of this species and provide the first evidence of a consistent trade-off between the short-term physiological responses to drought and recovery phases in Mediterranean species. Cistus spp. are generally reported to have a great cost in terms of plasticity in response to stress factors. However, they also show a noticeable resilience ability. We highlighted a positive trade-off between short-term physiological responses to stress and to recovery associated with the lack of leaf shedding. Such trade-off was consistent across species and in accordance with their ecology. This result contributes in explaining the profit, more than the cost, of a higher physiological plasticity in response to short-term stress imposition for Cistus spp.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3484