Table 3 Selected reviews/syntheses on functional traits that protect plants from the effects of fluvial disturbances
From: Functional traits: the pathways to riverine plant resistance in times of hydropeaking
Paper topic | Fluvial disturbance | Functional traits referenced in the text | References |
|---|---|---|---|
Ventilation mechanisms in plant groups that thrive in oxygen-deficient environments | Saturated soils, partial or total submergence | Aerenchyma formation, pressurized ventilation, thermo-osmotic gas transport, humidity-induced diffusion mechanisms, radial oxygen loss barriers, water-repellent leaf surface, leaf buoyancy, leaf shape, special structures (i.e., pneumatophores, knee roots and stilt roots), hypertrophied lenticels, "knees” emerging from the roots to the surface of the water | Björn et al. (2022) |
Functional traits and their role in wetland plant adaptation and ecosystem functioning | Water table fluctuations, drought, flooding, soil saturation | Physiological down-regulation, leaf dimorphism, aerenchyma formation, rapid shoot elongation, adventitious roots, radial oxygen loss barriers, hypertrophied lenticels, water-conserving mechanisms (such as temporary stomatal closure or lower stomatal pore area), hydraulic conductance, wood density, specific leaf area, photosynthetic capacity, leaf cuticle thickness, root porosity, root mechanical strenght, root depth, plant growth rate, below-ground biomass allocation, leaf dry matter content, stem flexibility, leaf mechanical resistance, sclerophylly, clonal reproduction | Moor et al. (2017) |
Study on several angiosperm plant species of wetlands that aerate their submerged organs by thermo-osmotic transport of gas, a special adaptation of the wetland plants to the anoxic environment | Partial or total submergence, waterlogged soils | Ventilation systems (i.e., thermo-osmotic transport of gas to submerged organs) | Grosse et al. (1991) |
A review of mechanisms that underlie short- and long-term tolerance to external anaerobic conditions (i.e., soil inundation and submergence) | Soil inundation and submergence | Regulation of anaerobic energy metabolism (e.g., control of the expression of anaerobic proteins genes under anoxia), avoidance of self poisoning (i.e., controlling levels of with ethanol derived from fermentation), regulation of cytoplasmic acidosis, root elongation, root regeneration, aerenchyma formation, adventitious roots, presence of large carbohydrate stocks, plant quasi-dormant state (i.e., to survive under seasonal anoxia and avoid energy starvation), detoxification of free radicals (antioxidant mechanisms) | Vartapetian and Jackson (1997) |
A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature (published 2000 to 2020) addressing plant functional traits in wetland restoration | Soil inundation, submergence, rapid water fluctuations | Due to the extensive list of traits reported, the reader is invited to revise it here: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01741-z | Sloey et al. (2023) |