Szuba Agnieszka, Ratajczak Ewelina, Leski Tomasz, Tomaszewski Dominik, Ratajczak Izabela, Woźniak Gabriela, Jagodziński Andrzej M
Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, Kórnik, 62-035, Poland.
Department of Chemistry, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 75, Poznań, 60-625, Poland.
BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Jul 2;25(1):820. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-06792-4.
Abies alba Mill. (silver fir) needs specific soil and humidity conditions and seedlings are vulnerable to climatic extremes. Surprisingly, successful seedling establishment has been observed in disturbed habitats like active quarries. We compared 2-year old fir seedlings in three habitats-natural fir forest, disturbed forest, and exposed quarry-to explore the biochemical features that help them endure the first stages of succession in harsh environments. We assessed a range of parameters including reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, antioxidant activity (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl reduction), foliar pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids), C and N contents, nonstructural carbohydrates, phenolics, and cell wall components analyzed via Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, as well as ectomycorrhizal colonization and diversity. The analysis indicated that the fir seedlings were in unexpectedly good physiological condition despite the environmental constraints. Continuous exposure to harsh conditions (stony soils poor in C and N, extreme insolation, potential drought/flooding stress, etc.) was only slightly associated with ROS and antioxidant levels, roots of seedlings were fully mycorrhized, and their roots did not express signals of severe oxidative stress. Only a few seedling features clearly followed the environmental gradient; C (%), ectomycorrhizal fungal richness in roots, and total antioxidant content in stems decreased in harsh environments. Despite the lower chlorophyll levels, seedlings from the quarry had no decrease in C or N foliar levels. These firs did not have impaired N- or C-compound levels. Quarry seedlings had the highest nonstructural carbohydrates in needles and roots, protective foliar shifts (more carotenoids), and stronger stems (more structural carbohydrates, especially lignin). These findings demonstrate strong acclimatization capacity of A. alba seedlings and suggest the existence of stabilizing physiological mechanisms supporting survival in disturbed environments.
欧洲冷杉（Abies alba Mill.）需要特定的土壤和湿度条件，其幼苗易受极端气候影响。令人惊讶的是，在诸如活跃采石场等受干扰的栖息地中也观察到了成功的幼苗定植。我们比较了生长在三种栖息地（天然冷杉林、受干扰森林和露天采石场）中的2年生冷杉幼苗，以探究有助于它们在恶劣环境中度过演替初期的生化特征。我们评估了一系列参数，包括活性氧（ROS）水平、抗氧化活性（2,2-二苯基-1-苦基肼还原法）、叶片色素（叶绿素和类胡萝卜素）、碳和氮含量、非结构性碳水化合物、酚类物质，以及通过傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱分析的细胞壁成分，还有外生菌根的定殖和多样性。分析表明，尽管存在环境限制，冷杉幼苗的生理状况却出奇地良好。持续暴露于恶劣条件（碳和氮含量低的石质土壤、极端日照、潜在的干旱/洪水胁迫等）与ROS和抗氧化剂水平仅有轻微关联，幼苗的根系完全被菌根化，且其根部未表现出严重氧化应激的信号。只有少数幼苗特征明显遵循环境梯度；在恶劣环境中，碳含量（%）、根中外生菌根真菌丰富度和茎中的总抗氧化剂含量会降低。尽管叶绿素水平较低，但来自采石场的幼苗叶片中的碳或氮含量并未降低。这些冷杉的氮或碳化合物水平并未受损。采石场幼苗的针叶和根中具有最高的非结构性碳水化合物、保护性的叶片变化（更多类胡萝卜素）以及更强壮的茎（更多结构性碳水化合物，尤其是木质素）。这些发现证明了欧洲冷杉幼苗具有强大的适应能力，并表明存在支持其在受干扰环境中生存的稳定生理机制。
