Giudici, Gabriella Nora Maria
(2020)
Woodwardia radicans in the Ferriere Valley: ecophysiology of photosynthetic processes to study light and water stress.
[Tesi di dottorato]
| Tipologia del documento: |
Tesi di dottorato
|
| Lingua: |
English |
| Titolo: |
Woodwardia radicans in the Ferriere Valley: ecophysiology of photosynthetic processes to study light and water stress |
| Autori: |
| Autore | Email |
|---|
| Giudici, Gabriella Nora Maria | gabriellanoramaria.giudici@unina.it |
|
| Data: |
12 Marzo 2020 |
| Numero di pagine: |
142 |
| Istituzione: |
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II |
| Dipartimento: |
Agraria |
| Dottorato: |
Scienze agrarie e agroalimentari |
| Ciclo di dottorato: |
32 |
| Coordinatore del Corso di dottorato: |
| nome | email |
|---|
| D'Urso, Guido | durso@unina.it |
|
| Tutor: |
| nome | email |
|---|
| Mazzoleni, Guido | [non definito] |
|
| Data: |
12 Marzo 2020 |
| Numero di pagine: |
142 |
| Parole chiave: |
Woodwardia radicans, chlorophyll fluorescence, photoinhibition |
| Settori scientifico-disciplinari del MIUR: |
Area 05 - Scienze biologiche > BIO/03 - Botanica ambientale e applicata |
[error in script]
[error in script]
| Depositato il: |
20 Mar 2020 15:31 |
| Ultima modifica: |
08 Nov 2021 12:18 |
| URI: |
http://www.fedoa.unina.it/id/eprint/13143 |
Abstract
Woodwardia radicans is a threathened giant fern dating back to the tropical paleoclimate of Europe, which is now present as a glacial relict in limited and fragmented areas. One of these areas, the Valle delle Ferriere (Sorrento peninsula - Italy) is a protected natural reserve with multiple habitats and high biodiversity. Although many lab-based studies have been carried out on this species little has been done in the field and in field-like cultivation conditions. This study aimed to investigate W. radicans functional responses to environmental factors, with particular attention to high light and water deficiency stress as likely consequences of the most referred threats: deforestation and diminishing water bodies. It also tried to provide a monitoring tool, based on physiological performances of the fern to assess its state of conservation in the natural protected areas.
Photosynthetic performance was deemed to be the most appropriate indicator of the health status of the species and of its fitness to cope with environmental changes. Chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) was used to evaluate photosynthetic performances through different techniques: slow and fast Kautsky kinetics (OJIP) and electron transport rate (ETR).
The reasearch was conducted through lab-based, greenhouse cultivation and field experiments. The lab-based experiments included induction of different levels of light stress to evaluate the sensitivity/resistence of W. radicans and analyse possible protection mechanisms. The experiments were conducted on every stage of the life cycle of W. radicans and on other species sharing the same environment to provide an ecological view (a moss Palustriella commutata, two liverworts Pellia endiviifolia and Conocephalum conicum, two ferns Adiantum capillus-veneris, and Polypodium vulgare). Desiccation experiments were carried out to test the photosynthetic performance related to lowering level of relative water contents (RWC) in W. radicans gametophytes and three other species of the forest floor layer (Pellia endiviifolia, Palustriella commutata, Conocephalum conicum, mature thalli/shoots). The greenhouse cultivation experiments provided information about long-term acclimation to daily light through the rapid light response curve (RLC) of ETR. The field experiment in the Ferriere valley used OJIP to analyse the photosynthetic response to daily changes of light in a natural environment. Woodwardia radicans was found sensitive to high light stress, but, at the same time quenching mechanisms protected the species fromdamages to photosynthetic apparatus. Other species in the same environment were found to smilarly respond to light stress so that they could be used for habitat assessment. Innovative features in the physiological study of this species are:
use of photosynthetic performances, use of field and field-like cultivation conditions for physiological measurements, combined intra and interspecific approach to evaluate physiological performances, the aim of assessing states of conservation/risk not through morphological measurements but through physiological performances.
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