Plants, as sessile organisms, have evolved a remarkable developmental plasticity to cope with their changing environment. When growing in hostile desert conditions, plants have to grow and thrive in heat and drought. This review discusses how desert plants have adapted their root system architecture (RSA) to cope with scarce water availability and poor nutrient availability in the desert soil. First, we describe how some species can survive by developing deep tap roots to access the groundwater while others produce shallow roots to exploit the short rain seasons and unpredictable rainfalls. Then, we discuss how desert plants have evolved unique developmental programs like having determinate meristems in the case of cacti while forming a branched and compact root system that allows efficient water uptake during wet periods. The remote germination mechanism in date palms is another example of developmental adaptation to survive in the dry and hot desert surface. Date palms have also designed non-gravitropic secondary roots, termed pneumatophores, to maximize water and nutrient uptake. Next, we highlight the distinct anatomical features developed by desert species in response to drought like narrow vessels, high tissue suberization, and air spaces within the root cortex tissue. Finally, we discuss the beneficial impact of the microbiome in promoting root growth in desert conditions and how these characteristics can be exploited to engineer resilient crops with a greater ability to deal with salinity induced by irrigation and with the increasing drought caused by global warming.
AbstractClimate change will affect both the mean and the variability in environmental conditions and may have major negative impacts on population densities in the future. For annual plants that already live in an extreme environment like the Sonoran Desert, keeping a fraction of their seeds dormant underground (for possibly years at a time) is critical to survive. Here, we consider how this form of bet hedging (i.
Plant species diversity has long been a focal point in ecological studies. In order to study the changes in species diversity at different spatial scales (α, β, and γ diversities) in the restoration process of grassland vegetation in fragile desert steps, this study took desert steppe of Inner Mongolia as the research object and employed a two-factor experimental design that combined exclosure years (the years when an area was isolated to prevent grazing and other disturbances) with years of monitoring (the years when data were collected). It analyzed the plant groups (dominant species, common species, and rare species) and species diversity, and obtained the preliminary conclusions as follows: The optimal exclosure duration for promoting species diversity balance in desert steppe management is between 16 and 18 years.
Alfalfa ( L.) establishment is an effective strategy for grassland reconstruction in degraded ecosystems. However, the mechanisms underlying vegetation succession in reconstructed grasslands following alfalfa establishment remain elusive.
Desiccation is a common stress for organisms living in desert soil. Chroococcidiopsis sp. is the dominant species in the soil microbial community of desert regions.
Laboratory of Quality and Safety Risk Assessment for Agri-Products (Urumqi), Key Laboratory of Functional Nutrition and Health of Characteristic Agricultural Products in Desert Oasis Ecological Region (Co-Construction by Ministry and Province), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Quality Standards & Testing Technology for Agri-Products, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, 830091, China. Electronic address:
The browning of Thompson seedless grapes during shade-drying significantly hampers the sustainable and healthy development of the industry. This study investigates the browning phenomenon and reactive oxygen species (ROS) dynamics when Thompson seedless grapes, treated with adenosine triphosphate (ATP), 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), and water (QS), are dried in the shade. The effects of these treatments on ROS metabolism were analyzed through physiological, biochemical, and proteomic analyses.
