Drought Impact on the Morpho-Physiological Parameters of Perennial Rhizomatous Grasses in the Mediterranean Environment

Claudia Arias, Gladys Lino, Elena Sánchez, Salvador Nogués and Xavier Serrat ()
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Claudia Arias: Department of Biological Foundation, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Córdoba, Córdoba 5001, Argentina
Gladys Lino: Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Elena Sánchez: Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Salvador Nogués: Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Xavier Serrat: Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The selection of non-food crops for bioenergy production in limiting environments is a priority for energy security and climate change mitigation. Therefore, more studies are needed on the interactions between species and environmental factors in specific sites which allows their selection for biomass production. The objective of this work is to study the impact of drought on the morpho-physiological parameters of perennial rhizomatous grasses Panicum virgatum L., Miscanthus × giganteus , and Arundo donax L. in the Mediterranean environment. Plants were grown on field and trials were carried out under support-irrigation and rainfed conditions during two consecutive years. Morpho-physiological parameters were measured in May, June and August, and dry biomass at the end of the experiment. Under rainfed conditions, A. donax presented the highest photosynthesis rate (25, 15 and 10 CO 2 m −2 s −1 ), relative water content (85–90%), and dry biomass (~4500 g plant −1 ) compared with P. virgatum (20, 5 and 5 CO 2 m −2 s −1 , 65–85% RWC and ~1400 g plant −1 ) and Miscanthus (18, 4 and 0 CO 2 m −2 s −1 , 80–10% RWC and ~260 g plant −1 ). It is concluded that A. donax would be the best perennial rhizomatous grass to be used as bioenergy crop under Mediterranean conditions.

Keywords: drought; photosynthesis; biomass; Panicum virgatum L.; Miscanthus × giganteus; Arundo donax L. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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