TY  - JOUR
AU  - Leroy, C.
AU  - Gril, E.
AU  - Si Ouali, L.
AU  - Coste, S.
AU  - Gérard, B.
AU  - Maillard, P.
AU  - Mercier, H.
AU  - Stahl, C.
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Water and nutrient uptake capacity of leaf-absorbing trichomes vs. roots in epiphytic tank bromeliads
T2  - Environ. Exp. Bot.
JO  - Environmental and Experimental Botany
SP  - 112
EP  - 123
VL  - 163
PB  - Elsevier B.V.
KW  - 15 N labelling
KW  - Carbon metabolism
KW  - Nutrient uptake
KW  - Plant performance
KW  - Tank bromeliad
KW  - Water status
KW  - Aechmea
N2  - The water and nutrient uptake mechanisms used by vascular epiphytes have been the subject of a few studies. While leaf absorbing trichomes (LATs) are the main organ involved in resource uptake by bromeliads, little attention has been paid to the absorbing role of epiphytic bromeliad roots. This study investigates the water and nutrient uptake capacity of LATs vs. roots in two epiphytic tank bromeliads Aechmea aquilega and Lutheria splendens. The tank and/or the roots of bromeliads were watered, or not watered at all, in different treatments. We show that LATs and roots have different functions in resource uptake in the two species, which we mainly attributed to dissimilarities in carbon acquisition and growth traits (e.g., photosynthesis, relative growth rate, non-structural carbohydrates, malate), to water relation traits (e.g., water and osmotic potentials, relative water content, hydrenchyma thickness) and nutrient uptake (e.g., 15 N-labelling). While the roots of A. aquilega did contribute to water and nutrient uptake, the roots of L. splendens were less important than the role played by the LATs in resource uptake. We also provide evidenced for a synergistic effect of combined watering of tank and root in the Bromelioideae species. These results call for a more complex interpretation of LATs vs. roots in resource uptake in bromeliads. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.
SN  - 00988472 (Issn)
UR  - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85064888398&doi=10.1016%2fj.envexpbot.2019.04.012&partnerID=40&md5=5898ba27a9a7904876100825a17a0246
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2019.04.012
N1  - exported from refbase (http://php.ecofog.gf/refbase/show.php?record=871), last updated on Mon, 13 May 2019 13:45:09 -0300
ID  - Leroy_etal2019
ER  -