Low temperature responses of Nothofagus dombeyi and Nothofagus nitida, two evergreen species from south central Chile

Nothofagus dombeyi (Mirb.) Blume and Nothofagus nitida (Phil.) Krasser are closely related evergreen trees native to south central Chile. Nothofagus dombeyi is a pioneer in habitats subject to high daytime irradiances and nighttime freezing temperatures and has a wider altitudinal and latitudinal distribution than N. nitida, which is restricted to more oceanic climates. We postulated that N. dombeyi has a greater cold-acclimation capacity, expressed as a greater capacity to maintain a functional photosynthetic apparatus at low temperatures, than N. nitida. Because cold-acclimation may be related to the accumulation of cryoprotective substances, we investigated relationships between ice nucleation temperature (IN), freezing temperature (FT), and the temperature causing injury to 50% of the leaf tissues (LT(50)) on the one hand, and concentrations of total soluble carbohydrates (TSC), starch and proline on the other hand. Observations were made throughout a seasonal cycle in adults and seedlings in the field and in seedlings in the laboratory under cold-acclimation inductive and non-inductive conditions. In adults, LT(50) values were lower in N. dombeyi than in N. nitida, suggesting that N. dombeyi is the more frost tolerant species. Adults of both species tolerated freezing in autumn and winter but not in spring and summer. In the fall and winter, seedlings of N. dombeyi had a much lower LT(50) than those of N. nitida. Nothofagus nitida seedlings, in autumn and winter, exhibited freezing avoidance mechanisms. Although elevated TSC and proline concentrations may contribute to freezing tolerance in adults of both species, an increase in proline concentration is unlikely to be the dominant frost tolerance response in adults because proline concentrations were higher in N. nitida than in N. dombeyi. In seedlings, however, there were large differences in proline accumulation between species that may account for the difference between them in freezing tolerance. Starch concentration in both species decreased during winter. Chlorophyll fluorescence indicated that maximal photochemical efficiency (F(v)/F(m)) remained at optimal values (~0.8) throughout the year. The effective photochemical efficiency of PSII (PhiPSII) and relative electron transport rates (ETR(r)) decreased in winter in both species. In seedlings, fluorescence parameters were more affected in winter in N. nitida than in N. dombeyi. We concluded that adults and seedlings of N. dombeyi are hardier than adults and seedlings of N. nitida, which is consistent with its wider latitudinal and altitudinal distribution.