Variations in physiological and biochemical traits of drought-stressed Quercus cerris seedlings

Abstract

Turkey oak is among the species that can be used for the afforestations in the semi-arid and arid regions of Turkey. Understanding how the Turkey oak responds to drought could contribute to improve stress tolerance and to the success of afforestation programs of species. In this study, the response of one-year-old seedlings of Turkey oak (Quercus cerris L.) to the drought stress was investigated. Under controlled conditions, the seedlings in the control group were regularly irrigated during the stress experiment, while drought-stressed seedlings were subjected to drought stress by withholding irrigation for 30 days. Both control and drought-stress treatment groups were sampled on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 30, and their stem xylem water potential, stomatal conductance and total soluble sugars were determined. In addition, the volumetric soil moisture content was also determined. As a result, significant differences were found in xylem water potential, stomatal conductance and total soluble sugar between the control and drought-stressed seedlings. Drought stress significantly reduced soil moisture content and consequently, xylem water potential of the drought-stressed oak seedlings were lower than the control seedlings. Drought stress decreased stomatal conductance, but significantly increased accumulations of total soluble sugars.

Keywords

• turkey oak
• drought stress
• xylem water potential
• stomatal conductance
• soluble sugar
• saçlı meşe
• kuraklık stresi
• ksilem su potansiyeli
• stoma iletkenliği
• çözünebilir şeker