Effects of Watering Regime and Biochar on the Growth, Biochemical Constituents and Drought Susceptibility of Seedlings of Some Urban Forest Tree Species

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Background: Climate stress and soil constraints of urban landscapes would limit establishment, shade effectiveness and ecosystem services of urban forests.Developments of the plant components of urban green infrastructure must identify tree species that are well adapted to climate stress factors.The effects of effects of wet-dry cycle and biochar on the growth and physiological attributes, biochemical constituents, and drought susceptibility of seedlings of some urban forest tree species (UFTS) was evaluated in the nursery.Methods: The tested UFTS were Bauhinia monandra, Delonix regia, Terminalia catappa, Dypsis lutescens and Veitchia merrillii.Seedlings were subjected to 80 % field capacity (FC) watering and dry down treatment, and biochar amendment or not.Measured growth physiological and biochemical variables of UFTS seedlings were deployed for ranking the evaluated UFTS for drought susceptibility.Results: Relative to well watering, dry down treatment produced lower values of root and shoot biomass, leaf area, relative water content, net assimilation rates, leaf chlorophyll and carotenoids contents.Dry down treatment enhanced accumulation of proline, soluble sugars, flavonoids and crude protein contents and elicited changes in enzymatic activities.Biochar amendment of dry down treatment enhanced growth, physiological and biochemical attributes of UFTS seedlings and induced enzymatic antioxidant activities.The increasing trends of drought tolerance among the UFTS were B. monandra, D. regia, T. catappa, D. lutescens and V. merrillii for both biochar amended and non-amended dry down condition.Conclusion: Study identified drought susceptibility of evaluated UFTS seedlings and relevance of biochar for moisture deficit stress alleviation

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