Effects of Soil Water Deficit on Three Tree Species of the Arid Environment: Variations in Growth, Physiology, and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities

Fahad Rasheed, Adnan Gondal, Kamziah Abdul Kudus, Zikria Zafar, Muhammad Farrakh Nawaz, Waseem Razzaq Khan, Muhammad Abdullah, Faridah Hanum Ibrahim, Claire Depardieu, Ahmad Mustapha Mohamad Pazi, Khayyam Anjum, Shazia Afzal, Seemab Akram and Mohd Nazre
Additional contact information
Fahad Rasheed: Department of Forestry & Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Adnan Gondal: Department of Forestry & Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Kamziah Abdul Kudus: Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sri Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Zikria Zafar: Department of Forestry & Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Muhammad Farrakh Nawaz: Department of Forestry & Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Waseem Razzaq Khan: Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sri Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Muhammad Abdullah: Cholistan Institute of Desert Studies (CIDS), The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Faridah Hanum Ibrahim: Institut Ekosains Borneo, Universiti Putra Malaysia Kampus Bintulu, Bintulu 97008, Sarawak, Malaysia
Claire Depardieu: Canada Research Chair for Forest Genomics, Institute for Systems and Integrative Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Ahmad Mustapha Mohamad Pazi: Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sri Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Khayyam Anjum: Department of Forestry & Range Management, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan
Shazia Afzal: Department of Forestry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Seemab Akram: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sri Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohd Nazre: Department of Forestry Science and Biodiversity, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Sri Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Low water availability predicted under climate change is a major abiotic factor limiting plants growth and productivity. In this study a greenhouse experiment was conducted on three important tree species of arid environment: Conocarpus erectus ( CE ), Acacia modesta ( AM ), and Salix tetrasperma ( ST ). Young saplings were subjected to control (C), medium (MWD) and severe soil water deficit (SWD) treatments and response was evaluated. Results showed that in all the three species leaf, stem and root dry weight production remained similar to C under MWD treatment but decreased significantly under SWD. The highest decrease in total dry weight was noticed in ST and the lowest was evidenced in AM under SWD. Root:shoot ratio increased significantly in both CE and AM under MWD and SWD. Furthermore, chlorophyll content decreased while proline content increased significantly in both MWD and SWD treatments. The production of oxidants (hydrogen peroxide and superoxide anions) and antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase and ascorbate peroxidase) increased significantly under both MWD and SWD treatments and were the highest in AM in both MWD and SWD treatments. Therefore, we may conclude that all the three species can tolerate medium water stress due to increased root production and an effective antioxidant defense mechanism.

Keywords: Conocarpus; Acacia; Salix; biomass production; proline content; reactive oxygen species; drought (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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