Similarities and differences in the balances between leaf, xylem and phloem structures in Fraxinus ornus along an environmental gradient

Abstract

The plant carbon balance depends on the coordination between photosynthesis and the long-distance transport of water and sugars. How plants modify the allocation to the different structures affecting this coordination under different environmental conditions has been poorly investigated. In this study, we evaluated the effect of soil water availability on the allocation to leaf, xylem and phloem structures in Fraxinus ornus L. We selected small individuals of F. ornus (height ~2 m) from sites contrasting in soil water availability (wet vs dry). We measured how the leaf (LM) and stem + branch biomass (SBM) are cumulated along the stem. Moreover, we assessed the axial variation in xylem (XA) and phloem tissue area (PA), and in lumen area of xylem vessels (CAxy) and phloem sieve elements (CAph). We found a higher ratio of LM:SBM in the trees growing under drier conditions. The long-distance transport tissues of xylem and phloem followed axial patterns with scaling exponents (b) independent of site conditions. PA scaled isometrically with XA (b ~ 1). While CAxy was only marginally higher at the wet sites, CAph was significantly higher at the drier sites. Our results showed that under reduced soil water availability, F. ornus trees allocate relatively more to the leaf biomass and produce more conductive phloem, which is likely to compensate for the drought-related hydraulic limitations to the leaf gas exchanges and the phloem sap viscosity.

Keywords: Fraxinus ornus; allometry; biomass allocation; conductance; phloem; soil moisture; wood anatomy; xylem.