Biologia plantarum 49:269-272, 2005 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-005-0272-6

Water-use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination of Acacia ampliceps and Eucalyptus camaldulensis at different soil moisture regimes under semi-arid conditions

J. Akhter1,*, K. Mahmood1, M. A. Tasneem2, K. A. Malik1, M. H. Naqvi1, F. Hussain1, R. Serraj3
1 Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, Faisalabad, Pakistan
2 Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
3 International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria

Acacia ampliceps Maslin and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. were grown for one year in lysimeters at three soil moisture regimes: 100 % (well-watered), 75 % (medium-watered) and 50 % (low-watered) of total plant available water. Biomass yield of both species increased with increase in soil moisture. Water-use efficiency (WUE) of E. camaldulensis decreased and that of A. ampliceps increased markedly with decrease in available soil moisture. A. ampliceps showed 4 - 5 times more biomass yield than E. camaldulensis grown at similar soil moisture. A. ampliceps showed almost 5, 9 and 12 times higher WUE than E. camaldulensis under low-, medium- and well-watered treatments, respectively. Significant negative correlation of δ13C with WUE (r = -0.99) was observed in A. ampliceps. In contrast, δ13C of E. camaldulensis showed a significant positive correlation with WUE (r = 0.82).

Keywords: biomass production; plant available soil water; transpiration efficiency
Subjects: Acacia ampliceps; carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C, Δ13C); Eucalyptus camandulensis; gas exchange, carbon isotope discrimination, transpiration efficiency; growth analysis, plant development, biomass and yield enhancement; transpiration rate; water use efficiency

Received: January 16, 2004; Accepted: December 14, 2004; Published: June 1, 2005Show citation

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Akhter, J., Mahmood, K., Tasneem, M.A., Malik, K.A., Naqvi, M.H., Hussain, F., & Serraj, R. (2005). Water-use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination of Acacia ampliceps and Eucalyptus camaldulensis at different soil moisture regimes under semi-arid conditions. Biologia plantarum, 49(2), 269-272. doi: 10.1007/s10535-005-0272-6.
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