Abstract
The aluminium tolerance of several tree species was studied in a cloud forest in Northern Venezuela, growing on a very acid soil and rich in soluble Al. The Al-accumulator species (>1000 ppm in leaves) were compared to non-accumulator ones in relation to total Al concentration in xylem sap, pH and Al concentration in vacuoles, and rhizosphere alkalinization capacity. The Al3+ concentration in the soil solution and the xylem sap were also measured.
The results show that in the Al-accumulator plant Richeria grandis, xylem sap is relatively rich in Al and about 35% of it is present in ionic form. In the non-accumulator plant studied (Guapira olfersiana) there is no Al detectable in xylem sap. The pH of vacuolar sap of several Al-accumulator species studied was very acidic and ranged between 2.6–4.8, but the presence of Al in vacuoles was not correlated with the acidity of the vacuolar sap.
Both Al-accumulator and non accumulator plants had the capacity to reduce acidity of the rhizosphere and increased the pH of the nutrient solution by one unit within the first 24 hours.
Trees growing in natural, high acidity-high Al3+ environment show a series of tolerance mechanisms, such as deposition of Al in vacuoles, Al chelation and rhizosphere alkalinization. These partially ameliorate the toxic effects of this element, but they probably impose a high ecological cost in terms of photosynthate allocation and growth rate.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aimi R and Murakami T 1964 Cited by Morimura et al., 1978. Cell-physiological studies on the growth of crop plants. Bull. Nat. Inst. Agric. Sci. D. 11,331. (in Japanese).
Blamey F P C, Edwards D G and Asher C J 1983 Effects of aluminum, OH:Al and P:Al molar ratios, and ionic strength on soybean root elongation in solution culture. Soil. Sci. 136, 197–207.
Cambraia J, Galvani F R, Estevao M M and Sant'Anna 1983 Effects of aluminum on organic acid, sugar and amino acid composition of the root system of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). J Plant Nutr. 6,313.
Chenery E M 1948 Aluminium in plants and its relation to plant pigments. Ann. Bot. 12, 121–136.
Chenery E M and Sporne K R 1976 A note on the evolutionary status of aluminium-accumulators among dicotyledons. New Phytol. 76, 551–554.
Clarkson D T 1969 Metabolic apsects of aluminium toxicity and some possible mechanisms for resistance. In Ecological Aspects of the Mineral Nutrition of Plants. Ed. I HRorison. pp 381–397. Blackwell, Oxford, Edinburgh.
Cuenca G and Herrera R 1987 Ecophysiology of aluminium in terrestrial plants, growing in acid and aluminium-rich tropical soils. Ann. Soc. r Zool. Belg. 117, 57–73. Supplement 1.
Cuenca G and Herrera R 1988 Environmental acidity and natural vegetation in Venezuela. In Acidification in Tropical Countries. Eds. HRodhe and RHerrera. pp 221–228. John Wiley, Chichester.
Cuenca G 1976 Balance Nutricional de Algunas Leñosas de dos Ecosistemas Contrastantes: Bosque Nublado y Bosque Deciduo, Thesis Lic. Biol. UCV., 137 p.
Fölster H 1986 Forest-savanna dynamics and desertification processes in the Gran Sabana Interciencia 11, 311–316.
Foy C D 1974 Effects of aluminium on plant growth. In The Plant Root and Its Environment. Ed. E WCarson. pp 601–642. University Press of Virgina, Charlottesville, VA.
Roy C D 1983a The physiology of plant adaptation to mineral stress. Iowa State J. Res. 57, 355–391.
Foy C D 1983b Plant adaptation to mineral stress in problem soils. Iowa State J. Res. 57, 339–354.
Foy C D 1984 Physiological effects of hydrogen, aluminum and manganese toxicities in acid soil. In Soil Acidity and Liming, Agronomy Monograph no. 12 (2nd ed.). pp 57–97.
Foy C D, Fleming A L, Burns G R and Armiger W H 1967 Characterization of differential aluminum tolerance among varieties of wheat and barley. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 31, 513–521.
Foy C D, Chaney R L and White M C 1978 The physiology of metal toxicity in plants. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. 29, 511–566.
Garcia-Miragaya J and Herrera R 1971 Propiedades fisicas, quimicas y mineralógicas de una clinosecuencia de suelos ácidos. Agron. Trop. 21, 411–420.
Hampp R and Schnabl H 1975 Effect of aluminium ions on 14CO2-fixation and membrane system of isolated spinach chloroplasts. Z. Pflanzenernaehr. Bodenkd. 76, 300–306.
Haridasan M, Paviani T I and Shiavini I 1986 Localization of aluminium in the leaves of some aluminium-accumulating species. Plant and Soil 104, 99–102.
Haridasan M 1988 Performance of Miconia albicans (Sw.) Triana, an aluminium-accumulating species, in acidic and calcareous soils. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 19, 1091–1103.
Krupitz A 1969 Topochemischer Aluminium-Nachweis in den Zellen von Lycopodiaceen. Protoplasma 68, 47–64.
Matsumoto H and Morimura S 1980 Repressed template activity of chromatin of pea roots treated by aluminum. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 38, 931–934.
Memon A R, Chino M and Yatazawa M 1981 Microdistribution of aluminum and manganese in the tea leaf tissues as revealed by X-ray microanalyzer. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 12, 441–452.
Neitzke M and Runge M 1985 Keimlings- und Jungpflan-zenentwicklung der Buche (Fagus sylvatica L.) in Abhängigkeit vom Al/Ca-Verhältnis des Bodenextraktes. Flora 177, 237–249.
Paolini J 1988 Physico-chemical properties of Venezuelan soils and their sensitivity to acidification. In Acidification in Tropical Countries. Eds. HRodhe and RHerrera. pp 201–210. John Wiley, Chichester.
Parker D R, Kinraide T B and Zelazny L W 1988 Aluminum speciation and phytotoxicity in dilute hydroxy-aluminum solutions. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 438–444.
Rorison I H 1985 Nitrogen source and the tolerance of Deschampsia flexuosa, Holcus lanatus and Bromus erectus to aluminium during seedling growth. J. Ecol. 73, 83–90.
Sanhueza E 1988 Atmospheric cycles of acidic compounds. In Acidification in Tropical Countries. Eds. HRodhe and R Herrera. pp 228–246. John Wiley, Chichester.
Schaedle M, Thornton F C, Raynal D J and Tepper H B 1989 Response of the tree seedlings to aluminum. Tree Physiology 5, 337–356.
Sokal R R and Rohlf F J 1969 Biometry. W H Freeman and Company, San Francisco, CA, 776 p.
Steyermark J A and Huber O 1978 Flora del Avila. Soc. Ven. Cs. Nat. Caracas 971 p.
Taylor G J and Foy C D 1985 Mechanisms of aluminum tolerance in Triticum aestivum L. (wheat). IV. The role of ammonium and nitrate nutrition. Can. J. Bot. 63, 2181–2186.
Ting I P, Lord E M, Sternberg L da S L and DeNiro M J 1985 Crassulacean acid metabolism in the strangler Clusia rosea Jacq. Science 229, 969–971.
Wagatsuma T and Kaneko M 1987 High toxicity of hydoxyaluminum polymer ions to plant roots. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 33, 57–67.
Wright R J, Baligar V C and Wright S F 1987 Estimation of phytotoxic aluminum in soil solution using three spectrophotometric methods. Soil Sci. 144, 224–232.
Webb L J 1954 Aluminium accumulation in the Australian-New Guinea flora. Aust. J. Bot. 2, 176–197.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cuenca, G., Herrera, R. & Medina, E. Aluminium tolerance in trees of a tropical cloud forest. Plant Soil 125, 169–175 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010654
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010654