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Comunidad de Madrid, Grant/Award Number: S2018/EMT-4338; Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Grant/ Award Number: PGC2018-09915-B-100, CGL2015-66809-P and PID2019-107382RB-I00

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Coordination between water uptake depth and the leaf economic spectrum in a Mediterranean shrubland

Publicado en:Journal Of Ecology. 110 (8): 1844-1856 - 2022-08-01 110(8), DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13909

Autores: Illuminati, Angela; Ignacio Querejeta, Jose; Pias, Beatriz; Escudero, Adrian; Matesanz, Silvia

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Water is the most limiting resource for plant survival and growth in arid environments, but the diversity of water-use strategies among coexisting species in dryland communities is not well understood. There is also growing interest in assessing whether a whole-plant coordination exists between traits related to water-use and the leaf economic spectrum (LES). We used water stable isotopes (delta H-2, delta O-18) to quantify water uptake proportions from different soil depths by 24 species in a Mediterranean shrubland. Leaf traits associated with water-use efficiency, stomatal regulation (delta C-13, delta O-18) and the LES (SLA, N, P, K concentrations) were also measured. We assessed potential trade-offs between the above-mentioned leaf traits, water uptake depth and their relationship with species abundance. We found distinct ecohydrological niche segregation among coexisting species. Bayesian models showed that our shrubland species used a median of 37% of shallow soil water (0-30 cm) and 63% of deep water (30-100 cm). Still, water source proportions varied considerably among species, as shallow soil water-use ranged from a minimum of 6.4% to a maximum of 68%. Interspecific variability in foliar carbon investment (SLA) and nutrient concentrations was remarkably high, indicating diverse nutrient-use strategies along the LES. Leaf delta O-18, delta C-13 and delta N-15 values also differed widely among species, revealing differences in stomatal regulation, water-use efficiency and nitrogen acquisition mechanisms. After accounting for evolutionary history effects, water uptake depth was coordinated with the LES: species using shallower soil water from fertile topsoil layers exhibited a more acquisitive carbon- and nutrient-use strategy, whereas water uptake from deeper but less fertile soil layers was linked to a more conservative nutrient-use strategy. Leaf-level water-use traits significantly influenced species abundance, as water-savers with tight stomatal regulation and high water-use efficiency were dominant. Synthesis. Greater utilisation of water stored in nutrient-rich topsoil layers favoured a more acquisitive nutrient-use strategy, whereas a deeper water uptake pattern appeared to constrain access to nutrients. Our findings thus suggest a largely inescapable trade-off and coordination between soil water uptake depth and carbon- and nutrient-use strategies in low-fertility drylands.

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