Author(s): Takashi Asaeda; Fumiko Imamura; Akio Nohara
Linked Author(s): Takashi Asaeda
Keywords: Riparian vegetation; Species distribution; Hydrogen peroxide; Modeling tool
Abstract: Most of riparian vegetation species are hydrochloric, and their seeds are distributed by floods, recruited at the downstream shoreline then grow if the recruited site satisfies a suitable condition to grow with low stressed conditions. Therefore, the identification of the levels of the stressors for different species is the most important process to obtain their distribution. Exposed to abiotic stressors in the environment, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated in their cells, and destroy protein, lipid, DNA, etc. in a cell organelle. Among different ROS, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is relatively steady, and can be measured appropriately. Thus, the quantification of plant H2O2 can be used as a stress indicator for riparian vegetation management. The current study examined the spatial distribution of plants by riparian vegetation communities across the elevation gradient of riparian zones, through quantification of environmental stress using foliar H2O2 concentration. Among stressors, the most important stressors in the riparian zone is the soil moisture. The tree species, such as Salix spp., Robinia pseudoacacia, Ailanthus altissima, Juglans mandshurica, and representative herb species were Phragmites australis, Phragmites japonica, Miscanthus sacchariflorus selected for this study. Leaf tissues and soil samples were collected for the analysis of H2O2 concentration, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and moisture content. The H2O2 concentration of tree species other than Salix spp. increased with higher soil moisture contents, while that of Salix spp. decreased with increasing soil moisture. H2O2 concentration of herb spp. always decreased with soil moisture. Based on these relationships and on reference soil moisture distributions for gravelly and sandy channels, the H2O2 concentration was estimated for each species on a theoretical range of soil moisture, which relates to an elevation above the channel. The comparison with the observed distribution of plants elevation in the field indicated that all species made spatial distribution of plant that act as a species-specific elevations where H2O2 concentrations stayed below 40mmol/gFW. Hence present study suggests that foliar H2O2 concentration can be a useful benchmark for distribution potential of riparian vegetation.
Year: 2024