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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Water Quality and Ecology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #176245
Title: GAS EXCHANGE RESPONSES OF BLACK WILLOW (SALIX NIGRA) CUTTINGS TO A RANGE OF SOIL MOISTURE REGIMES

Author
item LI, S - UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
item PEZESHKI, S - UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
item GOODWIN, S - UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS
item Shields Jr, Fletcher

Submitted to: Symposium on Biogeochemistry of Wetlands
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2005
Publication Date: 6/6/2005
Citation: Li, S., Pezeshki, S.R., Goodwin, S., Shields Jr, F.D. 2005. Gas exchange responses of black willow (Salix nigra) cuttings to a range of soil moisture regimes [abstract]. Symposium on Biogeochemistry of Wetlands. p. 62.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Black willow (Salix nigra) is used extensively for riverbank erosion control and riparian zone restoration. However, many projects in southeastern United States have reported low survival rates. Previous studies indicate that extreme soil moisture conditions (flooding, drought) are among factors responsible for such poor performance. However, the mechanisms underlying the low survival are less clear. This study was conducted to quantify gas exchange and biomass partitioning responses of black willow to a range of soil moisture regimes. Under greenhouse conditions, potted cuttings were subjected to four levels of soil moisture conditions: well-watered (control), continuous flooding, periodic flooding and periodic drought. The results demonstrated that stomatal limitation was one of the factors that led to the reduced photosynthetic capacity in continuously flooded cuttings. Under periodic drought conditions, stomatal closure, decreased leaf chlorophyll content and increased dark fluorescence yield contributed to photosynthetic decline. Continuously flooded cuttings accumulated the lowest shoot biomass while the final height and root growth were most adversely affected by periodic drought. Periodically flooded cuttings tended to allocate more photoassimilate to root growth than to shoots. Our results provided evidence that: 1) photosynthesis and growth in black willow were limited by stomatal closure under continuous flooding and periodic drought. Non-stomatal factors also were involved in such responses under periodic drought conditions; and 2) soil moisture plays an important role in governing success of transplanted black willow cuttings thus, it is critical to take soil moisture conditions into consideration for restoration planning.