Drought Response of Two Mexican Oak Species, Quercus laceyi and Q. sideroxyla (Fagaceae), in Relation to Elevational Position
Authors: Helen M. Poulos, U. M. Goodale, and G. P. Berlyn
Published: American Journal of Botany 94(5): 809–818. 2007.
To investigate the relationship between the altitudinal distribution of Quercus laceyi and Q. sideroxyla and their physiological responses to drought, we measured relative water content, water potentials, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, and spectral reflectance (400–1100 nm) five times during a 7 wk acute drought. Leaf spectral reflectance increased with time in response to decreases in leaf photosynthetic pigment concentrations in latter weeks of the drought. The results suggest a close association between the altitudinal distributions of these species and their adaptation to water stress.
To investigate the relationship between the altitudinal distribution of Quercus laceyi and Q. sideroxyla and their physiological responses to drought, we measured relative water content, water potentials, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, and spectral reflectance (400–1100 nm) five times during a 7 wk acute drought. Leaf spectral reflectance increased with time in response to decreases in leaf photosynthetic pigment concentrations in latter weeks of the drought. The results suggest a close association between the altitudinal distributions of these species and their adaptation to water stress.
