Developmental stage during experimentally elevated temperature moderates
pine seedling phenotypic and demographic responses
Abstract
We subjected southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis Engelm.) seeds
to controlled warming treatments to study responses of seed and seedling
demographics, and morphological and physiological traits following
warming during embryogenesis, germination, and early seedling growth.
Daytime air temperature surrounding cones in tree canopies was warmed by
+2.1 ◦C during embryo development. Resulting seeds and seedlings were
assigned to three thermal regimes in growth chambers, with each regime
separated by 4 ◦C. The embryo-warming treatment reduced percent seedling
emergence in all germination and growth environments and reduced
mortality of seedlings grown in the warmest environment. Warm thermal
regimes during early seedling growth increased seedling resistance to
oxidative stress and seedling transpirational water use even after
applying cooler temperatures and experimental drought. Experimental
warming imposed during seed development affected seedling demographic
processes, and warming imposed during germination and seedling growth
affected stress resistance and water relations. This work illustrates
that the study of numerous ecophysiological and functional trait
responses to various types of stress across multiple plant developmental
stages is essential for understanding the effects of climate warming on
forest regeneration processes.