Resistance to complete submergence in Rumex species with different life histories: the influence of plant size and light

Resistance to complete submergence was tested in three Rumex species that occur in the Dutch river forelands. The species differ in both habitat and life history characteristics. The annual or biennial R. maritimus and the biennial or short lived perennial R. palustris grow on frequently flooded mud flats of low elevation, while the perennial R. thyrsiflorus can be found on dykes and river dunes that are seldom flooded. The flooding characteristics of the habitats of the three species were determined. These data were used to design experiments to determine the survival and biomass development of the three species during submergence and the influence of plant size and light level on these parameters. It was shown in all three species that plants submerged during daytime were much more resistant to flooding than those submerged at night. This is most probably due to the generation of oxygen or carbohydrates by underwater photosynthesis. Mature plants of the three species showed higher survival after submergence than juvenile plants, which might be caused by higher carbohydrate levels in the taproots of mature plants. In addition, the three species clearly differed in survival and biomass development during submergence. Rumex thyrsiflorus, the species least subjected to flooding, is least tolerant to complete submergence. Rumex maritimus, which can avoid the floods by having a short life cycle, is less tolerant to submergence than R. palustris, which has to survive the floods as a vegetative plant. It was noted that some plants that survived the flooding period itself, still died in the following period of drained conditions, possibly due to post-anoxic injury.

[1]  R. Tüxen.  Die Pflanzengesellschaften Nordwestdeutschlands , 1970 .

[2]  Alastair H. Fitter,et al.  Environmental physiology of plants , 1982 .

[3]  Eric S. Menges,et al.  Plant Strategies in Relation to Elevation and Light in Floodplain Herbs , 1983, The American Naturalist.

[4]  R. Crawford,et al.  The Effect of Anaerobiosis on Carbohydrate Levels in Storage Tissues of Wetland Plants , 1983 .

[5]  G. Hendrỳ,et al.  IRON-INDUCED OXYGEN RADICAL METABOLISM IN WATERLOGGED PLANTS. , 1985, The New phytologist.

[6]  H. Greenway,et al.  Concentrations of CO2 and O2 in floodwater and in internodal lacunae of floating rice growing at 1–2 metre water depths , 1987 .

[7]  R. Crawford,et al.  Carbohydrate status of terrestrial plants during flooding. , 1987 .

[8]  R. Crawford,et al.  Catalase activity and post-anoxic injury in monocotyledonous species. , 1987 .

[9]  R. Crawford.  Plant life in aquatic and amphibious habitats , 1987 .

[10]  H. Greenway,et al.  Submergence of Rice. I. Growth and Photosynthetic Response to CO2 Enrichment of Floodwater , 1989 .

[11]  S. Maberly,et al.  Photosynthesis and photorespiration in freshwater organisms : amphibious plants , 1989 .

[12]  S. Adkins,et al.  Diurnal changes in radial oxygen loss and ethanol metabolism in roots of submerged and non‐submerged rice seedlings , 1989 .

[13]  L. Voesenek.  Adaptations of Rumex in flooding gradients , 1990 .

[14]  J. Grace,et al.  RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FLOODING TOLERANCE, LIFE HISTORY, AND SHORT‐TERM COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE IN THREE SPECIES OF POLYGONUM , 1990 .

[15]  S. Adkins,et al.  Submergence tolerance of rice – A new glasshouse method for the experimental submergence of plants , 1990 .

[16]  H. Tsuji,et al.  Development of the O2--Detoxification System during Adaptation to Air of Submerged Rice Seedlings , 1992 .

[17]  H. M. V. D. Steeg,et al.  Phenology and seed production in Chenopodium rubrum, Rumex maritimus, and Rumex palustris as related to photoperiod in river forelands , 1992 .

[18]  C. Blom,et al.  Flooding regimes and life-history characteristics of short-lived species in river forelands , 1993 .

[19]  B. Cobb,et al.  The Response of Maize Seedlings of Different Ages to Hypoxic and Anoxic Stress (Changes in Induction of Adh1 mRNA, ADH Activity, and Survival of Anoxia) , 1994, Plant physiology.

[20]  M. Jackson,et al.  Mechanisms of flood tolerance in plants , 1994 .

[21]  A. Pradet,et al.  Plant metabolism under hypoxia and anoxia , 1994 .

[22]  G. Albrecht,et al.  Is long-term hypoxia met by the Pasteur effect in roots of wheat seedlings? , 1994 .

[23]  J. Hills,et al.  A Method for Classifying European Riverine Wetland Ecosystems Using Functional Vegetation Groups , 1994 .

[24]  L. Voesenek,et al.  Physiological ecology of riverside species : adaptive responses of plants to submergence , 1994 .

[25]  K. Fagerstedt,et al.  COMPARISON OF CARBOHYDRATE UTILIZATION AND ENERGY-CHARGE IN THE YELLOW FLAG IRIS (IRIS-PSEUDACORUS) AND GARDEN IRIS (IRIS-GERMANICA) UNDER ANOXIA , 1995 .

[26]  R. Delaune,et al.  Soil Redox Intensity Effects on Oxygen Exchange and Growth of Cattail and Sawgrass , 1996 .

[27]  L. Voesenek,et al.  Flooding‐induced adventitious rooting in Rumex: morphology and development in an ecological perspective , 1996 .

[28]  R. Crawford,et al.  Oxygen deprivation stress in a changing environment , 1996 .

[29]  M. Jackson,et al.  Plant adaptations to anaerobic stress , 1997 .

[30]  B. Gudleifsson.  Survival and Metabolite Accumulation by Seedlings and Mature Plants of Timothy Grass during Ice Encasement , 1997 .

[31]  C. Blom,et al.  Effects of irregular flooding on the establishment of tree species , 1998 .

[32]  P. Perata,et al.  Carbohydrate metabolism and anoxia tolerance in cereal grains , 1998 .

[33]  J. Reuss,et al.  LASER PHOTOACOUSTIC TRACE GAS DETECTION, AN EXTREMELY SENSITIVE TECHNIQUE APPLIED IN BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH , 1998 .

[34]  L. Voesenek,et al.  Survival tactics of Ranunculus species in river floodplains , 1999, Oecologia.

[35]  K. Sand‐Jensen,et al.  Plant growth and photosynthesis in the transition zone between land and stream , 1999 .

[36]  C. Blom,et al.  Light acclimation, CO2 response and long‐term capacity of underwater photosynthesis in three terrestrial plant species , 1999 .