Water Relations and Dioecy

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It is clear from a number of studies of dioeceous plants (separate male and female plants) from diverse ecosystems that two sexes are not equally distributed in the same microhabitats. Yet little is understood of the physiological bases of the difference in distribution. This study will test several hypotheses relating to the possible differences in water relations between sexes and their implications for productivity and survival. Among the experimental techniques in this project will be the analysis of stable isotope ratios of water (specifically D/H ratios) at natural abundance levels to detect the depths from which individual trees are extracting water. The information is critical as it says much about the potential for growth and survival of individual trees. Since this information is also recorded in tree rings as plants grow, our analysis should provide fundamental long-term information on water sources used by plants and in combination with carbon isotope ratio analysis should provide an integrated measure of the productivity to water consumption ratio under these conditions. Among the applied aspects of our dioeceous species (such as poplars) constitute a major fraction of the tree species used for pulp production. Since this study are focusing on the parameters affecting growth, productivity and survival, they could have direct application to this important industry.