Intensively managed poplar plantations (Populus spp. and their hybrids) have the potential to provide large quantities of renewable biomass for bioenergy. Identifying clonal varieties that are productive on water-limited, marginal agricultural land unsuitable for food production with low land costs ...

Within the North American boreal forest, a widespread outbreak of the epidermal leaf miner Phyllocnistis populiella Cham. has damaged quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) for nearly 20 years. In a series of experiments, we tested the effects of feeding damage by P. populiella on leaf water...

Nitrogen (N) partitioning within a leaf affects leaf photosynthesis and adaptation to environmental fluctuations. However, how plant sex influences leaf N allocation and its tradeoffs in acclimation to drought, excess salt and their combination remains unknown. Here, leaf N allocation between the...

Poplar not only has important ecological and economic value, but also is a model woody plant in scientific research. However, due to the rich morphological variation and extensive interspecific hybridization, the taxonomy of the genus Populus is very confused, especially in the Sect. Tacamahaca....

Increases in drought frequency and insect defoliation are emerging threats that typically affect the plantation production of Populus yunnanensis, which is an endemic dioecious tree species in China. Nevertheless, it is difficult to predict which sex of P. yunnanensis will be more affected by the...

Drought stress influences the growth of plants and thus grafting has been widely used to improve tolerance to abiotic stresses. Poplars possess sex-specific responses to drought stress, but how male or female rootstock affect the grafted plant is little known. To explore the mechanisms underlying...

The capacity of trees to tolerate and survive increasing drought conditions in situ will depend in part on their ability to acclimate (via phenotypic plasticity) key hydraulic and morphological traits that increase drought tolerance and delay the onset of drought-induced hydraulic failure. However, ...

Water deficiency is one of the most important abiotic factors limiting the growth and productivity of plants. Under conditions of water deficiency, plants can synthesize osmoprotectors, in particular proline. The aim of our work was to estimate the accumulation of free proline in the leaves of two...

The water deficits limit the growth and development of agricultural and forest organisms. The AP2/ethylene response factor (ERF) family has been identified as one of the largest plant-specific transcription factors (TFs) essential for plant development and stress response. The function of PtaERF194 ...

Evidence exists of nighttime transpiration and its potential impact on plant/water relations for species in a diversity of ecosystems. However, relevant data related to typical desert riparian forest species remains limited. Accordingly, we measured sap flow velocity of Populus euphratica using the ...