遮荫与外源脱落酸喷施对青杨(Populus cathayana Rehd.)不同种群抗旱性的影响

杨树具有分布广、适应性强的特征，在生态环境治理和解决木材短缺方面均占有重要位置。青杨(Populus cathayana Rehd.)是青杨派树种的重要成员之一，也是生长较迅速、易繁殖的重要杨树资源。本研究选取了来自不同气候地区的青杨两种群为材料，采用植物生态学、生理学和生物化学的研究方法，系统地研究了青杨对干旱与遮荫、干旱与外源脱落酸(ABA)喷施的生长、形态、生理和生化响应及种群间差异，研究成果可为我国干旱半干旱地区的造林以及生态恢复提供理论依据和科学指导。主要研究结论如下：1.青杨在干旱胁迫下的适应机制为：生长性状及生物量的分配变化：干旱胁迫下虽然植株生长受抑，株高、基茎及各部分生物量都显著减小，但有相对较多的生物量向根部分配，根/冠比以及细/粗根比增加。青杨对干旱胁迫的光合作用表现为：干旱胁迫降低了青杨的净光合速率、蒸腾速率、气孔导度以及光合氮利用效率，提高了瞬时用水效率。干旱还引起了活性氧的产生，使得膜脂过氧化产物丙二醛(MDA)增加，同时也增强了植物抗氧化酶系统(如超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)和抗坏血酸过氧化物酶(APX)活性的增加)及非酶系统的能力(如抗坏血酸(AsA)含量的增加)。干旱降低了植物叶片的相对含水量，而促进了渗透调节物质(游离脯氨酸及可溶性糖)的积累，增加了植物的渗调能力。干旱下青杨两种群的内源ABA含量显著增加，碳同位素组分(δ13C)也显著提高。这些结果证明植物遭受干旱胁迫后发生一系列的形态、生理和生化响应，这些变化能提高植物在干旱下的存活和生长能力。2.青杨两种群对干旱胁迫反应的种群差异：与来自湿润地区的汉源种群相比，来自干旱地区的乐都种群在干旱条件下生物量向根系分配的可塑性更强，同时具有更强的抗氧化系统能力，所受到活性氧的伤害也更少，并且累积更多的脯胺酸和ABA，具有更高的δ13C。这些都说明了乐都种群对干旱的适应性比汉源种群更强。两种群对干旱的响应差异应归于它们的用水策略的不同：汉源种群来自湿润地区，采用了耗水型的用水策略，抗旱能力较弱；而乐都种群，来自干旱地区，通常采用节水型的用水策略，有更强的抗旱能力。3.遮荫对青杨两种群抗旱性的影响：遮荫对青杨抗旱性的影响决定于遮荫程度的不同，我们的结果表明中度的遮荫可以有效的提高干旱下植物的生长，对干旱胁迫有明显的缓解作用，具体体现在中度遮荫下受旱植物的叶片相对含水量得到提高，使得植物体内水分状况得到了改善；光合速率并未降低，植物光合氮利用效率增加，说明中度的遮荫并未明显限制植物的碳获得；抗氧化酶活性与膜脂过氧化产物MDA含量的同时降低，说明中度遮荫下所受到的活性氧伤害减少；中度遮荫下的ABA及δ13C的变化也不如在全光下变化明显，这也说明中度遮荫缓解了干旱胁迫。但是重度的遮荫却对干旱胁迫有明显的加剧作用，主要表现在重度遮荫降低了植物的光合速率，严重抑制了植物的生长；同时重度遮荫下脯胺酸含量和抗氧化酶活性的急剧下降，导致了植物渗调能力的下降及膜脂过氧化产物MDA的显著升高；重度遮荫还显著降低了内源ABA的累积和δ13C，降低了植物的抗旱能力。此外，青杨两种群在对干旱和遮荫的响应中，也表现出种群差异。汉源种群，来自湿润且年日照辐射较少的地区，表现出相对更强的耐荫性和需水性。而乐都种群，来自干旱且年日照辐射丰富的地区，表现出相对更强的耐旱性和需光性。这说明了植物对环境胁迫的耐受性是其长期适应原生境的结果，并且来自不同气候地区的两种群在面临环境胁迫时会采取不同的生存策略。4. 外源ABA喷施对青杨两种群抗旱性的影响：外源ABA的喷施可以提高两种群的抗旱性，具体表现为外源ABA喷施促进了青杨根系的生长，显著提高了干旱下植物的根/冠比和细/粗根比，减少了比叶面积；在生理生化方面，外源ABA降低了干旱下植物叶片的气孔导度，降低了蒸腾速率和净光合速率，但提高了瞬时用水效率，提高了叶片的相对含水量，增加了干旱下植物的保水能力。外源ABA进一步增加了干旱下植物内源ABA的积累，促进了植物渗调物质如脯胺酸和可溶性糖的积累，增加了抗氧化酶系统(如SOD、APX、CAT)的活性和非酶系统AsA的含量，降低了活性氧(如超氧阴离子(O2和过氧化氢(H2O2))对植株的伤害。此外，外源ABA还进一步提高了干旱下植物的δ13C，提高了植物的长期用水效率，由此提高了植物的抗旱能力。另一方面，两种群对外源ABA和干旱的响应也有所差别。来自湿润地区的汉源种群，对干旱较为敏感，所受干旱的影响也较大，而外源ABA的喷施对汉源种群抗旱性的提高作用也更为突出。乐都种群，由于其长期适应干旱地区的生长，本身已具有较强的抗旱能力，因此外源ABA喷施对其抗旱性的提高不如对汉源种群的效果明显。由此我们可以得出对于一些抗性弱或干旱敏感的物种或者种群，可以采用外施ABA的方法来提高其抗性。Poplars play an important role in lumber supply, and are important component ofecosystems due to their wide distribution and well adaptation. Populus cathayana Rehd.,which belongs to Populus Sect. Tacamahaca Spach, is one of the most important resources ofpoplars for its fast growth and reproductive. In this study, different populations of P.cathayana were used as experiment material to investigate the adaptability to drought stressand population differences in adaptability, and the effects of shade and exogenous abscisicacid (ABA) application on the drought tolerance. Our results could provide a strongtheoretical evidence and scientific direction for the afforestation, and rehabilitation ofecosystem in the arid and semi-arid area, and provide a strong evidence for adaptivedifferentiation of different populations, and so may be used as criteria for species selectionand tree improvement. The results are as follows:1. A large set of parallel response to drought stress: Drought stress caused pronouncedinhibition of the growth and increased relatively dry matter allocation into the root. For thetwo populations, the shoot height, basal diameter and total biomass were decreased but theroot/shoot ratio and fine root/coarse root ratio were increased under drought conditions；Drought stress caused pronounced inhibition of photosynthesis, decreased the stomatalconductance, transpiration rate, and photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency (PNUE) butincreased the instantaneous water use efficiency. Drought significantly improved the levels ofreactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde (MDA) and to induce the entire set ofantioxidative systems including the increase of activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD),ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate (AsA) content. Drought decreased the leaf relative water content (RWC) but improved the capability of osmotic adjustmentindicated by the higher proline accumulation. Drought also increased the ABA content andcarbon isotope composition (δ13C), which indicating the long period water use efficiency wasimproved under drought. These results demonstrate that there are a large set of parallelchanges in the morphological, physiological and biochemical responses when plants areexposed to drought stress; these changes may enhance the capability of plants to survive andgrow during drought periods.2. Difference in adaptation to drought stress between contrasting populations of P.cathayana: Compared with the Hanyuan population (wet climate), the Ledu population (dryclimate) showed higher root/shoot ratio and water use efficiency, exhibited higherantioxidative systems capability thus resulting in less oxidative damage, accumulated moreABA and free proline content under drought conditions. The results suggested that there weredifferent water-use strategies between the two populations. The Ledu population, whichcomes from dry climate region, with higher drought tolerance, may employ a conservativewater-use strategy, whereas the Hanyuan population, which comes from wet climate, withlower drought tolerance, may employ a prodigal water-use strategy. These variations indrought responses may be used as criteria for species selection and tree improvement.3. The effects of shade on the drought tolerance: The reduction in the availability of lightand water affected the morphological and physiological responses of the two P. cathayanapopulations. In addition, the light environment modified the growth responses of P.cathayana seedlings to varying water environments in different ways depending upon theintensity of the light levels considered. There is an apparent alleviation to drought effects bymoderate shade in P. cathayana seedlings, as indicated by the higher leaf RWC, and unchanged net photosynthesis and PNUE, as well as by the lower antioxditative enzymeactivity, MDA, ABA and δ13C levels, which implied moderate shade did not significantlylimited the carbon acquisition or inhibited the plant growth, but ameliorated the detrimentaleffects of drought. On the other hand, an apparent aggravation to drought effects by severeshade was also observed, as indicated by the pronounced decrease of plant growth and net photosynthesis, the lower total biomass, ABA level, δ13C, free proline content andantioxditative enzyme activity and higher MDA accumulation. By contrast, the twopopulations showed different responses to shade and drought. The Hanyuan population,which comes from a riparian basin having a relatively wet climate and less annual solarradiation, is more sensitive to drought but more tolerant to shade. The Ledu population, whichcomes from a mountainous plateau with less rainfall and with more annual solar radiation, ismore tolerant to drought but more sensitive to shade. The results demonstrated that theendurance of plants to stress is a result of long-term evolution and adaptation to theenvironment, as suggested by the different strategies employed by the P. cathayanapopulations originating from contrasting habitats when they were exposed to drought andshade.4. The effects of exogenous ABA application on the drought tolerance: For bothpopulations under drought conditions tested, exogenous ABA application significantlyimproved the root/shoot ratio, fine root/coarse root ratio, and decreased the specifical leaf area.On the physiological and biochemical traits, exogenous ABA application significantlydecreased stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and net photosythesis but increased theinstance water use efficiency and leaf RWC. On the other hand, exogenous ABA applicationsignificantly increased endogenous ABA, proline, solube sugar and AsA content, as well asSOD, APX and CAT activities, thus reduced the damage of reactive oxygen species. Moreover,the long period water use efficiency as indicated by δ13C was also improved by exogenousABA application. In additionally, there was different responsive between the two populationsto drought and exogenous ABA application. The Hanyuan population, which comes from wetclimate region, is more sensitive to drought, and the effect of exogenous ABA is moreobviously than that in the Ledu population, which comes from dry climate region and is moredrought-responsive. Therefore, we can use exogenous ABA application to improve theresistance of plants, especially for the drought- sensitive species or populations.