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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2023, Vol. 59 ›› Issue (10): 89-98.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20210981

• Research papers • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Relationship Between Leaf Hydraulic and Economic Traits and Biomass of Poplar Clones

Wei Wang1,Han Zhao1,Xin Huang1,Zhuoliang Hou1,Zaimin Jiang2,Jing Cai1,3,*   

  1. 1. College of Forestry, Northwest A & F University Yangling 712100
    2. College of Life Sciences, Northwest A & F University Yangling 712100
    3. Qinling National Forest Ecosystem Research Station Yangling 712100
  • Received:2021-11-25 Online:2023-10-25 Published:2023-11-01
  • Contact: Jing Cai

Abstract:

Objective: Both leaf hydraulic and economic traits affect biomass accumulation as they can quantify and reflect the ability of plants to acquire water-carbon resources and their trade-off strategies. This study aims to explore the relationship between leaf hydraulic and economic traits and biomass of poplar clones, so as to find a reliable index for predicting clonal biomass, which could have guiding significance for early breeding of high-yield and fast-growing clones. Method: Eight 4-year-old white poplar clones with different growth rates and derived from the same parents (Populus alba 'I-101' × (P. Alba × P. Glandulosa) '84K') were used as the study subjects. Hydraulic traits (leaf vascular hydraulic conductance KleavesHPFM, leaf hydraulic conductance KleafEFM, vein density VD, vessel diameter Dv, hydraulic weighted vessel diameter Dh, stomatal density SD and stomatal length SL) and the economic traits (specific leaf area SLA, leaf total carbon content C, leaf total nitrogen content N, and leaf total carbon/nitrogen ratio C/N) were measured in the growing season (July to September). Above-ground biomass (AGB) was calculated at the end of the growing season (October). Then the variations of biomass, leaf hydraulic and economic traits among the clones were analyzed to investigate the relationships among them. Result: There were significant differences in above-ground biomass, leaf hydraulic and economic traits among the clones. The AGB overall ranked as follows: K1 > K2 > K3 > Z2 > Z1 > M3 > Z3 > M1, suggesting that the growth trend of most clones was consistent with the parent tree (8-year-old). Compared with that of leaf economic traits, the variation coefficient of hydraulic traits was larger (2.0%-12.0% VS 4.5%-13.2%). Leaf hydraulic traits and economic traits decoupled with each other, however, they were both related to above-ground biomass. In terms of hydraulic traits, KleavesHPFM, VD, Dv and Dh increased with AGB, all showing a significant positive correlation. However, SD, SL and KleafEFM were not correlated with AGB. As for economic traits, SLA was significantly negatively correlated with AGB, while C, N and C/N were not correlated with AGB. Further multiple linear regression analysis showed that VD was the main index affecting biomass (t = 2.957). Conclusion: The white poplar clones show a steady growth trend, and there are differences in leaf hydraulic and economic traits among the clones, which would provide a possibility for finding predictive biomass indicators at early growth stage. Compared with leaf economic traits, hydraulic traits can be the better predictors of the aboveground biomass of those clones, with vein density (VD) being the key factor.

Key words: poplar clones, intra-specific variation, leaf hydraulic traits, leaf economic traits, above-ground biomass

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