Acclimation responses of Tamarix chinensis seedlings related to cold stress

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acclimation responses of Tamarix chinensis to cold stress. We evaluatedthe acclimation responses by measuring biomass, daily elongation rate, chlorophyll content, and total soluble carbohydratecontent. The plant samples comprised leaves from seedlings of 2 different ages (8 and 12 weeks); the leaves werecollected 0, 2, and 4 weeks after cold treatment. We found that the cold-treated samples showed reduced daily elongationrates and chlorophyll content. Further, these samples showed more than 8-fold increase in the total soluble carbohydratecontent. However, the seedling ages did not have a significant influence on the growth of cold-treated seedlings.On the basis of these findings, we can conclude that T. chinensis seedlings aged less than 1 year old show acclimationto cold stress by accumulating soluble carbohydrates. This study may help us understand how T. chinensis seedlingsacclimatize to their first cold season.