Intraspecific variation in surface water uptake in a perennial desert shrub
Submission information
Submission Number: 91
Created: Tue, 09/14/2021 - 11:19
Intraspecific variation in surface water uptake in a perennial desert shrub
- Despite broad recognition that water is a major limiting factor in arid ecosystems, we lack an empirical understanding of how this resource is shared and distributed among neighboring plants. Intraspecific variability can further contribute to this variation via divergent life-history traits, including root architecture. We investigated these questions in the shrub Artemisia tridentata and hypothesized that the ability to access and utilize surface water varies among subspecies and cytotypes.
- We used an isotope tracer to quantify belowground zone of influence in A. tridentata, and tested if spatial neighborhood characteristics can alter plant water uptake. We introduced deuterium-enriched water to the soil in plant interspaces in a common-garden experiment and measured deuterium composition of plant stems. We then applied spatially-explicit models to test for differential water uptake by A. tridentata, including intermingled populations of three subspecies and two ploidy levels.
- The results suggest that lateral root functioning in A. tridentata is associated with intraspecific identity and ploidy level. Subspecies adapted to habitats with deep soils generally had a smaller horizontal reach, and polyploid cytotypes were associated with greater water uptake compared to their diploid variants. We also found that plant crown volume was a weak predictor of water uptake, and that neighborhood crowding had no discernable effect on water uptake.
- Intraspecific variation in lateral root functioning can lead to differential patterns of resource acquisition, an essential process in arid ecosystems in the contexts of changing climate and seasonal patterns of precipitation. Altogether, we found that lateral root development and activity is more strongly related to genetic variability within A. tridentata than to plant size. Our study highlights how intraspecific variation in life strategies is linked to mechanisms of resource acquisition.
GEM3 Project Affiliation(s)
Internal Affiliation(s)
Boise State University
Mechanisms
Project Keywords
- deuterium
- lateral root
- leaf water potential
- polyploidy
- stable isotope tracer
Data Authors/Creators
Authors/Creators
- Other Author(s): Brynne E. Lazarus
ORCiD: 0000-0002-6352-486X - Other Author(s): Marcelo D. Serpe
Contact Information
Dataset Contact Information
Trevor Caughlin
Geographic Research Space
This project involves a research component conducted at field site(s) or collecting data from a target population within a specific geographic area
Geographic Information
Temporal Information
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Metadata Files
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Data Files
Dataset Resources
- English
DOI Details
10.5061/dryad.pk0p2ngjm
Data Licensing & Availability
CC0 | No Rights Reserved
2020-02-24
Funding Information
NSF Idaho EPSCoR Program: Award OIA‐1757324
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