Adjustment of storage capacity for non-structural carbohydrates in response to limited water availability in two temperate woody species.

Reserves of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) stored in living cells are essential for drought tolerance of trees. However, little is known about the phenotypic plasticity of living storage compartments (SC) and their interactions with NSC reserves under changing water availability. Here, we examined adjustments of SC and NSC reserves in stems and roots of seedlings of two temperate tree species, Acer negundo L. and Betula pendula Roth., cultivated under different substrate water availability. We found that relative contents of soluble NSC, starch and total NSC increased with decreasing water availability in stems of both species, and similar tendencies were also observed in roots of A. negundo. In the roots of B. pendula, soluble NSC contents decreased along with the decreasing water availability, possibly due to phloem decoupling or NSC translocation to shoots. Despite the contrast in organ responses, NSC contents (namely starch) positively correlated with proportions of total organ SC. Individual types of SC showed markedly distinct plasticity upon decreasing water availability, suggesting that water availability changes the partitioning of organ storage capacity. We found an increasing contribution of parenchyma-rich bark to the total organ NSC storage capacity under decreasing water availability. However, xylem SC showed substantially greater plasticity than those in bark. Axial storage cells, namely living fibers in A. negundo, responded more sensitively to decreasing water availability than radial parenchyma. Our results demonstrate that drought-induced changes in carbon balance affect the organ storage capacity provided by living cells, whose proportions are sensitively coordinated along with changing NSC reserves.

Mechanisms underlying the long-term survival of the monocot Dracaena marginata under drought conditions.

Efficient water management is essential for the survival of vascular plants under drought stress. While interrelations among drought stress, plant anatomy and physiological functions have been described in woody dicots, similar research is very limited for non-palm arborescent and shrubby monocots despite their generally high drought tolerance. In this study, potted transplants of Dracaena marginata Lam. in primary growth stage were exposed to several short- and long-term drought periods. Continuous measurements of sap flow and stem diameter, the evaluation of capacitance and leaf conductance, the quantification of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC), and organ-specific anatomical analyses were performed to reveal the mechanisms promoting plant resistance to limited soil moisture. The plants showed sensitive stomata regulation in the face of drying soil, but only intermediate resistance to water loss through cuticular transpiration. The water losses were compensated by water release from stem characterized by densely interconnected, parenchyma-rich ground tissue and considerable hydraulic capacitance. Our results suggest that the high concentration of osmotically active NSC in aboveground organs combined with the production of root pressures supported water uptake and the restoration of depleted reserves after watering. The described anatomical features and physiological mechanisms impart D. marginata with high resistance to irregular watering and long-term water scarcity. These findings should help to improve predictions with respect to the impacts of droughts on this plant group.