JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2024, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (4): 150-158.doi: 10.12302/j.issn.1000-2006.202209064

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Morphological and physiological responses of male and female Ginkgo biloba to temperature changes

WU Changfeng(), GUO Jing, WANG Guibin*()   

  1. Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China,College of Forestry and Grassland, Nanjing Forstry University,Nanjing 210037,China
  • Received:2022-09-28 Revised:2022-11-21 Online:2024-07-30 Published:2024-08-05
  • Contact: WANG Guibin E-mail:cfwu@njfu.edu.cn;gbwang@njfu.com.cn

Abstract:

【Objective】This study investigated the response mechanism of ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) to temperature changes and its gender differences, and clarified the relationship between changes in ginkgo morphology and physiological indexes and their corresponding temperature adaptation.【Method】We explored the response of male and female ginkgo trees to temperature changes under field conditions by measuring the growth index, anatomical structure, and metabolite content of adult ginkgo trees in five areas with an average annual precipitation of 990-1 200 mm and average annual temperatures of 9.8, 14.4, 16.3, 18.0 and 19.8 ℃, respectively.【Result】Under suitable living conditions, the leaf area, tree height, breast diameter, photosynthetic rate (Pn), and terpene lactone and polyvalerenol contents increased with the temperature, while the total flavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and soluble sugars contents decreased. These indicated that a certain degree of warming was beneficial to the growth and photosynthesis of Ginkgo biloba and increased the content of major metabolites such as terpene lactones and polypentenol, yet it was not promoting the accumulation of antioxidant metabolites. The tree height, leaf area, and total flavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, and soluble sugar contents of male plants were marked higher than those of female plants, while the intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) was lower than that of female plants.【Conclusion】Under natural conditions, both male and female ginkgo can adjust their morphological characteristics, photosynthetic strategies, and metabolite contents according to different temperature conditions to ensure the normal growth of individuals. The annual average temperature of 16.3-18.0 ℃ is the optimal environmental temperature for G. biloba growth. There exist gender differences in the adaptation of G. biloba to temperature, with the male plant exhibiting a superior ability to adapt to temperature changes.

Key words: Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo), male and female plants, temperature, leaf morphology, photosynthetic characteristics, metabolic index

CLC Number: