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Stomata, Photosynthesis and Plant Water Use Efficiency

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A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Use and Irrigation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2021) | Viewed by 31045

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. José M. Escalona Lorenzo

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Guest Editor

Agro-Environmental and Water Economics Institute (INAGEA) , Research Group of Plant Biology under Mediterranean Conditions (PLantmed), University of Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain
Interests: plant physiology; abiotic stresses; drought; viticulture; irrigation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photosynthesis (A) is the main process in plants that determines plant growth and production. Under limiting growth conditions, plants reduce their photosynthetic activity. This fact is mainly regulated by stomata. However, there are other mechanisms and factors involved in the regulation of photosynthesis associated to genes and anatomical and biochemical characters. Plants’ photosynthesis capacity and its regulation depends mainly on genetics and is associated to environment acclimation and adaptation processes.

Under climate change conditions, water is the main limiting factor to crop production. To face this limitation, looking for an agronomical and genetic approach to improve water use efficiency (WUE) and productivity is essential. At leaf level, WUE defines the cost of water transpired for the CO2 assimilation process regulated by stomata so that a better balance between net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance the higher leaf WUE can be achieved. The sensibility and capability of a quick stoma adjustment capacity under limiting environments can be associated to an adaptive character that can benefit several cultivated species. Recent breeding programs have aimed to improve WUE through the selection of genotypes that are better adapted to drought that achieve an increase of yield and biomass production by reducing water needs.

Summarizing, the present Special Issue intends to showcase the more recent research in photosynthesis regulation and implication in WUE improvements under constrained environments.

Dr. Jose Mariano Escalona
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Climate change
Drought
Breeding
Genomics
Genetics
Metabolites

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Diverse Physiological and Physical Responses among Wild, Landrace and Elite Barley Varieties Point to Novel Breeding Opportunities

by Jim Stevens, Matthew Alan Jones and Tracy Lawson

Agronomy 2021, 11(5), 921; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11050921 - 07 May 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2274

Abstract

Climate change from elevated [CO₂] may reduce water availability to crops through changes in precipitation and higher temperatures. However, agriculture already accounts for 70% of human consumption of water. Stomata, pores in the leaf surface, mediate exchange of water and CO₂ for the plant. In crops including barley, the speed of stomatal response to changing environmental conditions is as important as maximal responses and can thus affect water use efficiency. Wild barleys and landraces which predate modern elite lines offer the breeder the potential to find unexploited genetic diversity. This study aimed to characterize natural variation in stomatal anatomy and leaf physiology and to link these variations to yield. Wild, landrace and elite barleys were grown in a polytunnel and a controlled environment chamber. Physiological responses to changing environments were measured, along with stomatal anatomy and yield. The elite barley lines did not have the fastest or largest physiological responses to light nor always the highest yields. There was variation in stomatal anatomy, but no link between stomatal size and density. The evidence suggests that high photosynthetic capacity does not translate into yield, and that landraces and wild barleys have unexploited physiological responses that should interest breeders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stomata, Photosynthesis and Plant Water Use Efficiency)

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17 pages, 2337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Clonal Behavior in Response to Soil Water Availability in Tempranillo Grapevine cv: From Plant Growth to Water Use Efficiency

by Ignacio Tortosa, Jose M. Escalona, Guillermo Toro, Cyril Douthe and Hipolito Medrano

Agronomy 2020, 10(6), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10060862 - 18 Jun 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2687

Abstract

Climate change threatens worldwide grapevine production, especially in Mediterranean areas. To assume this challenge, the replacement of plant material to choose one more adapted to the new environmental conditions has been proposed as one of the possible solutions. Thus, the study of genetic variability in water-use efficiency (WUE) is needed to guarantee the survival of viticulture in those critical areas. In this study, the variability of WUE in 23 Tempranillo clones growth in pots and submitted to well-watered conditions and moderate water stress was studied along two consecutive years. Leaf net photosynthesis (AN), stomatal conductance (g_s), and plant growth parameters were measured, in addition the instrisic WUE (AN/g_s), biomass production, and water consumed were calculated. Results show a clear genotype effect for most of the studied parameters, but, with an important year by year variability. We identified different clonal behavior in response to soil water availability, that permits to classify them as water-savers vs water-spenders. In general, there was no found relationship between leaf and plant WUE, even some genotypes as 232 or 1048 were coincident in higher leaf WUE showed highly productive in terms of biomass accumulation per unit of water applied. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stomata, Photosynthesis and Plant Water Use Efficiency)

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16 pages, 1334 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Subsoiling Improves the Photosynthetic Characteristics of Leaves and Water Use Efficiency of Rainfed Summer Maize in the Southern Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China

by Wenming Wu, Shiji Wang, Lin Zhang, Jincai Li, Youhong Song, Chen Peng, Xiang Chen, Lili Jing and Hongjian Chen

Agronomy 2020, 10(4), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10040465 - 27 Mar 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2061

Abstract

In the southern Huang-Huai-Hai (HHH) region, China, maize production is frequently threatened by waterlogging at the seedling stage and by drought at the big flare stage. A two-year field experiment was performed to explore whether subsoiling (SS) in the winter wheat season could improve the photosynthetic capacity and increase the water use efficiency (WUE) of summer maize using the variety, Luyu9105. A split design was adopted in the experiment. The main plots used tillage practices, including SS and rotary tillage (RT). The subplots consisted of two irrigation methods, i.e., applied supplemental irrigation at the big flare stage (I) and no irrigation at the big flare stage (NI). The results showed that the SS treatment significantly increased soil water content (SWC) in the 40–60 cm soil layer. The SS treatment improved green leaf area index (gLAI) by 15.1%–30.2%, and enhanced the ear-leaf net photosynthetic rate (P_n), stomatal conductance (g_s), intercellular CO₂ concentration (c_i) and transpiration rate (T_r), and was accompanied by an increase in the grain-filling duration (T) by 5 days and the mean grain-filling rate (V_a). The SS treatment decreased the stomatal limitation (L_s), indicating that RT treatment, which was under lower SWC, led to a decrease in P_n. Applied supplemental irrigation under RT treatment was able to compensate for the growth of leaves, but could not reverse the decreasing trend in the gLAI. Ultimately, the SS treatment improved WUE by 9.1%–9.9%, and increased grain yields by 10.0%–29.3%. Therefore, this study showed that in the southern Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, which has a yellow cinnamon soil type, the practice of SS can improve the photosynthetic characteristics of leaves and WUE of rainfed summer maize. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stomata, Photosynthesis and Plant Water Use Efficiency)

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Review

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28 pages, 3689 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Influence of Environmental Factors Light, CO₂, Temperature, and Relative Humidity on Stomatal Opening and Development: A Review

by Elisa Driesen, Wim Van den Ende, Maurice De Proft and Wouter Saeys

Agronomy 2020, 10(12), 1975; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10121975 - 15 Dec 2020

Cited by 95 | Viewed by 22918

Abstract

Stomata, the microscopic pores surrounded by a pair of guard cells on the surfaces of leaves and stems, play an essential role in regulating the gas exchange between a plant and the surrounding atmosphere. Stomatal development and opening are significantly influenced by environmental conditions, both in the short and long term. The rapid rate of current climate change has been affecting stomatal responses, as a new balance between photosynthesis and water-use efficiency has to be found. Understanding the mechanisms involved in stomatal regulation and adjustment provides us with new insights into the ability of stomata to process information and evolve over time. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in research on the underlying mechanisms of the interaction between environmental factors and stomatal development and opening. Specific emphasis is placed on the environmental factors including light, CO₂ concentration, ambient temperature, and relative humidity, as these factors play a significant role in understanding the impact of global climate change on plant development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Stomata, Photosynthesis and Plant Water Use Efficiency)

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