Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration

Autores
Lopez Lauenstein, Diego; Vega, Carmen Delcira; Verga, Anibal; Lascano, Hernan Ramiro; Marchelli, Paula
Año de publicación
2026
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Climate change-induced droughts are pressing threats to forest species, especially in semi-arid regions like the Chaco, in South America. Developing drought-adapted genetic material for Neltuma alba, a keystone species for timber and silvopastoral systems, is crucial for restoration and sustainability. Current breeding often overlooks drought adaptation, and evaluating complex physiological traits is impractical at scale. This study investigated simple, heritable leaf morphological traits as indirect selection criteria for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. We assessed 90 individuals from three natural populations under controlled drought, monitoring senescence and survival. Ten leaf morphological traits were measured, and their narrow-sense heritability (h²) was estimated. We then analyzed associations between these traits and drought response (BLUPs for senescence and survival). Results showed that leaf size traits (e.g., leaflet length, width, area) had moderate to high heritabilities (0.40–0.69) and were significantly associated with drought tolerance. Larger leaf sizes correlated with delayed senescence but potentially reduced long-term survival, indicating a functional trade-off between growth-oriented and survival-oriented strategies. These findings demonstrate that easily measurable, heritable leaf morphological traits can serve as reliable, low-cost indicators for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. This provides a practical tool to accelerate early selection in breeding programs and optimize genetic resource management, even using herbarium material. Tailored selection schemes, accounting for the identified trade-offs, are essential for effective restoration and sustainable management of this vital species.
Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales
Fil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Verga, Anibal. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja. Agencia de Extensión Rural La Rioja; Argentina
Fil: Lascano, Hernan Ramiro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Lascano, Hernan Ramiro.Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Marchelli, Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); Argentina
Fil: Marchelli, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); Argentina
Fuente
New Forests 57 : 6 (January 2026)
Materia
Drought Tolerance
Environmental Restoration
Tolerancia a la Sequia
Restauración Medioambiental
Tree Breeding
Leaf Morphology
Ecological Restoration
Neltuma alba
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso restringido
Condiciones de uso
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Repositorio
INTA Digital (INTA)
Institución
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
OAI Identificador
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oai_identifier_str oai:localhost:20.500.12123/24953
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spelling Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restorationLopez Lauenstein, DiegoVega, Carmen DelciraVerga, AnibalLascano, Hernan RamiroMarchelli, PaulaDrought ToleranceEnvironmental RestorationTolerancia a la SequiaRestauración MedioambientalTree BreedingLeaf MorphologyEcological RestorationNeltuma albaClimate change-induced droughts are pressing threats to forest species, especially in semi-arid regions like the Chaco, in South America. Developing drought-adapted genetic material for Neltuma alba, a keystone species for timber and silvopastoral systems, is crucial for restoration and sustainability. Current breeding often overlooks drought adaptation, and evaluating complex physiological traits is impractical at scale. This study investigated simple, heritable leaf morphological traits as indirect selection criteria for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. We assessed 90 individuals from three natural populations under controlled drought, monitoring senescence and survival. Ten leaf morphological traits were measured, and their narrow-sense heritability (h²) was estimated. We then analyzed associations between these traits and drought response (BLUPs for senescence and survival). Results showed that leaf size traits (e.g., leaflet length, width, area) had moderate to high heritabilities (0.40–0.69) and were significantly associated with drought tolerance. Larger leaf sizes correlated with delayed senescence but potentially reduced long-term survival, indicating a functional trade-off between growth-oriented and survival-oriented strategies. These findings demonstrate that easily measurable, heritable leaf morphological traits can serve as reliable, low-cost indicators for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. This provides a practical tool to accelerate early selection in breeding programs and optimize genetic resource management, even using herbarium material. Tailored selection schemes, accounting for the identified trade-offs, are essential for effective restoration and sustainable management of this vital species.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); ArgentinaFil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); ArgentinaFil: Verga, Anibal. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja. Agencia de Extensión Rural La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Lascano, Hernan Ramiro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); ArgentinaFil: Lascano, Hernan Ramiro.Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Marchelli, Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaFil: Marchelli, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); ArgentinaSpringer2026-01-09T09:59:26Z2026-01-09T09:59:26Z2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24953https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11056-025-10151-40169-42861573-5095https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-025-10151-4New Forests 57 : 6 (January 2026)reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariaenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccesshttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)2026-02-26T11:47:40Zoai:localhost:20.500.12123/24953instacron:INTAInstitucionalhttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://repositorio.inta.gob.ar/oai/requesttripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:l2026-02-26 11:47:40.602INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuariafalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
title Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
spellingShingle Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
Lopez Lauenstein, Diego
Drought Tolerance
Environmental Restoration
Tolerancia a la Sequia
Restauración Medioambiental
Tree Breeding
Leaf Morphology
Ecological Restoration
Neltuma alba
title_short Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
title_full Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
title_fullStr Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
title_full_unstemmed Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
title_sort Heritable leaf traits as indicators of drought tolerance in Neltuma Alba for genetic improvement and ecological restoration
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Lopez Lauenstein, Diego
Vega, Carmen Delcira
Verga, Anibal
Lascano, Hernan Ramiro
Marchelli, Paula
author Lopez Lauenstein, Diego
author_facet Lopez Lauenstein, Diego
Vega, Carmen Delcira
Verga, Anibal
Lascano, Hernan Ramiro
Marchelli, Paula
author_role author
author2 Vega, Carmen Delcira
Verga, Anibal
Lascano, Hernan Ramiro
Marchelli, Paula
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Drought Tolerance
Environmental Restoration
Tolerancia a la Sequia
Restauración Medioambiental
Tree Breeding
Leaf Morphology
Ecological Restoration
Neltuma alba
topic Drought Tolerance
Environmental Restoration
Tolerancia a la Sequia
Restauración Medioambiental
Tree Breeding
Leaf Morphology
Ecological Restoration
Neltuma alba
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Climate change-induced droughts are pressing threats to forest species, especially in semi-arid regions like the Chaco, in South America. Developing drought-adapted genetic material for Neltuma alba, a keystone species for timber and silvopastoral systems, is crucial for restoration and sustainability. Current breeding often overlooks drought adaptation, and evaluating complex physiological traits is impractical at scale. This study investigated simple, heritable leaf morphological traits as indirect selection criteria for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. We assessed 90 individuals from three natural populations under controlled drought, monitoring senescence and survival. Ten leaf morphological traits were measured, and their narrow-sense heritability (h²) was estimated. We then analyzed associations between these traits and drought response (BLUPs for senescence and survival). Results showed that leaf size traits (e.g., leaflet length, width, area) had moderate to high heritabilities (0.40–0.69) and were significantly associated with drought tolerance. Larger leaf sizes correlated with delayed senescence but potentially reduced long-term survival, indicating a functional trade-off between growth-oriented and survival-oriented strategies. These findings demonstrate that easily measurable, heritable leaf morphological traits can serve as reliable, low-cost indicators for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. This provides a practical tool to accelerate early selection in breeding programs and optimize genetic resource management, even using herbarium material. Tailored selection schemes, accounting for the identified trade-offs, are essential for effective restoration and sustainable management of this vital species.
Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales
Fil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Vega, Carmen Delcira. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Verga, Anibal. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja. Agencia de Extensión Rural La Rioja; Argentina
Fil: Lascano, Hernan Ramiro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentina
Fil: Lascano, Hernan Ramiro.Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina
Fil: Marchelli, Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); Argentina
Fil: Marchelli, Paula. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB); Argentina
description Climate change-induced droughts are pressing threats to forest species, especially in semi-arid regions like the Chaco, in South America. Developing drought-adapted genetic material for Neltuma alba, a keystone species for timber and silvopastoral systems, is crucial for restoration and sustainability. Current breeding often overlooks drought adaptation, and evaluating complex physiological traits is impractical at scale. This study investigated simple, heritable leaf morphological traits as indirect selection criteria for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. We assessed 90 individuals from three natural populations under controlled drought, monitoring senescence and survival. Ten leaf morphological traits were measured, and their narrow-sense heritability (h²) was estimated. We then analyzed associations between these traits and drought response (BLUPs for senescence and survival). Results showed that leaf size traits (e.g., leaflet length, width, area) had moderate to high heritabilities (0.40–0.69) and were significantly associated with drought tolerance. Larger leaf sizes correlated with delayed senescence but potentially reduced long-term survival, indicating a functional trade-off between growth-oriented and survival-oriented strategies. These findings demonstrate that easily measurable, heritable leaf morphological traits can serve as reliable, low-cost indicators for drought tolerance in Neltuma alba. This provides a practical tool to accelerate early selection in breeding programs and optimize genetic resource management, even using herbarium material. Tailored selection schemes, accounting for the identified trade-offs, are essential for effective restoration and sustainable management of this vital species.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026-01-09T09:59:26Z
2026-01-09T09:59:26Z
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24953
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11056-025-10151-4
0169-4286
1573-5095
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-025-10151-4
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24953
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11056-025-10151-4
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-025-10151-4
identifier_str_mv 0169-4286
1573-5095
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
eu_rights_str_mv restrictedAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv New Forests 57 : 6 (January 2026)
reponame:INTA Digital (INTA)
instname:Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
reponame_str INTA Digital (INTA)
collection INTA Digital (INTA)
instname_str Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.name.fl_str_mv INTA Digital (INTA) - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria
repository.mail.fl_str_mv tripaldi.nicolas@inta.gob.ar
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