Climate change poses a significant threat to bioenergy production, impacting plant’s phenology and physiological performance. Investigating the adaptation of bioenergy crops like Populus is crucial for sustaining production. Populus, known for its genetic variation and ease of study, offers insights into tree responses to climate change. My research, part of the Advancing Populus Pathways in the Southeast (APPS) project, focuses on various Populus genotypes across multiple growing seasons, exploring phenology under different management strategies. Planting Populus across two sites, namely Monroe and Pontotoc, allows for the examination of genotype responses to climate change factors, particularly in terms of phenology and productivity. Factors like parentage provenance and temperature fluctuations influence budburst timing. Additionally, management practices, such as coppicing, significantly affect budburst, with coppiced trees showing delayed timing (five to ten days) compared to non-coppiced ones. Cold spell damage during budbreak reveals vulnerability, with northern provenances exhibiting greater resilience. Understanding such events is vital for tailored management. Cold spells not only impact initial budbreak but also alter leaf phenology and canopy dynamics, affecting overall productivity. Genotypes exhibit varied responses to rising temperatures and CO2 levels, influenced by their parentage. Trees with northern provenance, for instance, display higher photosynthetic capacity, but may face thermal stress under certain temperature increases. Conversely, southern genotypes demonstrate moderate photosynthetic capacity, but showcase better adaptation to heat, offering potential for breeding resilient varieties. Leaf traits serve as proxies for biomass production and water use efficiency prediction, aiding in genotype screening. Mechanisms like self-shading and leaf movability influence responses to environmental changes. For instance, self-shading helps regulate leaf temperature, thereby enhancing photosynthetic performance, albeit with some trade-offs. Elevated CO2 levels enhance water use efficiency, but determining whole-tree water use efficiency requires integration of various methods. While leaf-level measurements correlate with whole-tree water use efficiency, an integrated approach, combining leaf-level gas exchange and isotopic measurements, shows promise. In conclusion, understanding Populus responses to climate change is crucial for sustainable bioenergy production in the southeastern United States. Insights into phenology, productivity, and adaptation mechanisms offer avenues for management and breeding strategies, ensuring resilience amidst shifting climates.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MSSTATE/oai:scholarsjunction.msstate.edu:td-7279 |
| Date | 13 August 2024 |
| Creators | Wang, Jiaxin |
| Publisher | Scholars Junction |
| Source Sets | Mississippi State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Theses and Dissertations |
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