How is the water footprint of the species Vachellia farnesiana, Amburana cearensis, and Handroanthus impetiginosus influenced by abiotic stresses as water deficit and salinity?

Abstract

In semi-arid regions, is necessary to explore strategies to mitigate abiotic stresses such as water deficit and salinity. This study aimed to evaluate the stress tolerance capacity of three species subjected to different water regimes and salinity levels, based on dry matter production and water use efficiency (WUE). The species Handroanthus impetiginosus, Vachellia farnesiana, and Amburana cearensis were evaluated in combination with different water regimes (50%, 75%, and 100% of reference evapotranspiration – ET₀) and salinity levels (0.18, 1.50, and 1.90 dS m⁻¹). The results show that biomass accumulation increased at 50% and 75% ET₀, while the WUE decreased at 100% ET₀. The salinity level (1.90 dS m⁻¹) caused reductions in leaf dry biomass (LDB), total dry biomass (TDB), LDB/TDB ratio, and WUE. The negative effects of high salinity on plant height were greater with the application of 75% ET₀. The highest WUE was obtained at 50% ET₀ for A. cearensis and H. impetiginosus, while V. farnesiana obtained the highest WUE at 75% ET₀. A. cearensis exhibited the highest biomass accumulation (2.58 g) and WUE (0.21 g L⁻¹). Overall, the species can tolerate drought and salinity conditions, being sensitive to high salinity concentrations during their initial growth.

NOVELTY STATEMENT

The Caatinga is characterized by low water availability and soil salinization. Therefore, assessing the ability of native species to cope with these conditions allows for their utilization in reforestation programs in drought and salinity-exposed environments. Studies on the combined effects of these factors are scarce. The results indicated that native species show tolerance to drought and salinity conditions, albeit with some reductions in biomass production and water use efficiency at high NaCl concentrations. Among the species, A. cearensis performed the best under water and salinity stress conditions.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Dry forest
• reforestation
• salt stress tolerance
• tolerant species

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the four anonymous reviewers for their constructive and insightful comments that helped improve the manuscript.

Author contributions

Wilma Roberta dos Santos: Formal analysis, investigation; methodology, roles/writing – original draft. Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza: Conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation; methodology, roles/writing – original draft. Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim: Formal analysis, investigation, writing – review & editing. José Edson Florentino de Morais: Writing – review & editing. Maria Maraíza Pereira dos Santos: Investigation and review. Carlos André Alves de Souza: Investigation and review. Thieres George Freire da Silva: Funding acquisition, supervision, writing – review & editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Research Support Foundation of the State of Pernambuco (FACEPE – APQ-0639-5.01/21) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq – 402622/2021-9 and 309558/2021-2) for their financial support. We are grateful to Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES – Finance Code 001) and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP – 2023/05323-4) for the research and study grants.