Woody legumes : a (re)view from the South

Mark A. Adams, Judy Simon, Sebastian Pfautsch

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    47 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This review is focused on woody legumes from the southern continents. We highlight that the evolution of the Caesalpinioideae and Mimosoideae with old soils, with variable supplies of water and also with fire has produced a suite of advantageous physiological characteristics. These include good potential for nitrogen fixation and mechanisms for acquiring P. The latter includes the ability to form cluster roots and produce extracellular phosphatase enzymes. Further, many of the species in these subfamilies are known to synthesize in significant amounts osmotically compatible solutes, such as pinitol and other cyclitols/polyols, that help them cope with even severe drought conditions. In many cases, these species regenerate prolifically after fire from seed. Such species and their beneficial characters can now be better exploited to help sequester carbon, provide key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus for companion crops and other plants and provide feedstocks for a range of industries, including energy industries.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1072-1082
    Number of pages11
    JournalTree Physiology
    Volume30
    Issue number9
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2010

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