Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses
European oak species have long been considered relatively resistant to different disturbances, including drought. However, several recent studies have reported their decline initiated by complex changes. Therefore, we compared mature sessile oak trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i> (Matt.), Lie...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/2985 |
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| author | Martin Kubov Peter Fleischer Jozef Rozkošný Daniel Kurjak Alena Konôpková Juraj Galko Hana Húdoková Michal Lalík Slavomír Rell Ján Pittner Peter Fleischer |
| author_facet | Martin Kubov Peter Fleischer Jozef Rozkošný Daniel Kurjak Alena Konôpková Juraj Galko Hana Húdoková Michal Lalík Slavomír Rell Ján Pittner Peter Fleischer |
| author_sort | Martin Kubov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | European oak species have long been considered relatively resistant to different disturbances, including drought. However, several recent studies have reported their decline initiated by complex changes. Therefore, we compared mature sessile oak trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i> (Matt.), Liebl.) infested versus non-infested by hemiparasitic yellow mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus Jacq.</i>) during the relatively dry vegetation season of 2019. We used broad arrays of ecophysiological (maximal assimilation rate A<sub>sat</sub>, chlorophyll <i>a</i> fluorescence, stomatal conductance g<sub>S</sub>, leaf morphological traits, mineral nutrition), growth (tree diameter, height, stem increment), and water status indicators (leaf water potential Ψ, leaf transpiration T, water-use efficiency WUE) to identify processes underlying vast oak decline. The presence of mistletoe significantly reduced the Ψ by 1 MPa, and the WUE by 14%. The T and g<sub>S</sub> of infested oaks were lower by 34% and 38%, respectively, compared to the non-infested oaks, whereas the A<sub>sat</sub> dropped to 55%. Less pronounced but significant changes were also observed at the level of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry. Moreover, we identified the differences in C content, which probably reduced stem increment and leaf size of the infested trees. Generally, we can conclude that mistletoe could be a serious threat that jeopardizes the water status and growth of oak stands. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:22:11Z |
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| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:22:11Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-e55bc12b437d43c1a84ba600601778292023-11-20T18:24:09ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-10-011211298510.3390/w12112985Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological ResponsesMartin Kubov0Peter Fleischer1Jozef Rozkošný2Daniel Kurjak3Alena Konôpková4Juraj Galko5Hana Húdoková6Michal Lalík7Slavomír Rell8Ján Pittner9Peter Fleischer10Department of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaNational Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaInstitute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Ľ. Štúra 2, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaNational Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaNational Forest Centre, Forest Research Institute Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 22, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Integrated Forest and Landscape Protection, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaEuropean oak species have long been considered relatively resistant to different disturbances, including drought. However, several recent studies have reported their decline initiated by complex changes. Therefore, we compared mature sessile oak trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i> (Matt.), Liebl.) infested versus non-infested by hemiparasitic yellow mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus Jacq.</i>) during the relatively dry vegetation season of 2019. We used broad arrays of ecophysiological (maximal assimilation rate A<sub>sat</sub>, chlorophyll <i>a</i> fluorescence, stomatal conductance g<sub>S</sub>, leaf morphological traits, mineral nutrition), growth (tree diameter, height, stem increment), and water status indicators (leaf water potential Ψ, leaf transpiration T, water-use efficiency WUE) to identify processes underlying vast oak decline. The presence of mistletoe significantly reduced the Ψ by 1 MPa, and the WUE by 14%. The T and g<sub>S</sub> of infested oaks were lower by 34% and 38%, respectively, compared to the non-infested oaks, whereas the A<sub>sat</sub> dropped to 55%. Less pronounced but significant changes were also observed at the level of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry. Moreover, we identified the differences in C content, which probably reduced stem increment and leaf size of the infested trees. Generally, we can conclude that mistletoe could be a serious threat that jeopardizes the water status and growth of oak stands.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/2985hemiparasiteoak stands diebackwater deficitmineral nutritionphotosynthesisgrowth response |
| spellingShingle | Martin Kubov Peter Fleischer Jozef Rozkošný Daniel Kurjak Alena Konôpková Juraj Galko Hana Húdoková Michal Lalík Slavomír Rell Ján Pittner Peter Fleischer Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses Water hemiparasite oak stands dieback water deficit mineral nutrition photosynthesis growth response |
| title | Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses |
| title_full | Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses |
| title_fullStr | Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses |
| title_short | Drought or Severe Drought? Hemiparasitic Yellow Mistletoe (<i>Loranthus europaeus</i>) Amplifies Drought Stress in Sessile Oak Trees (<i>Quercus petraea</i>) by Altering Water Status and Physiological Responses |
| title_sort | drought or severe drought hemiparasitic yellow mistletoe i loranthus europaeus i amplifies drought stress in sessile oak trees i quercus petraea i by altering water status and physiological responses |
| topic | hemiparasite oak stands dieback water deficit mineral nutrition photosynthesis growth response |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/11/2985 |
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