Responses of Neotropical Savannah Plant Species to Abiotic Stresses: A Structural and Functional Overview

Abstract

Plants under field conditions are subject to different types of abiotic stresses such as drought, salinity, and light excess that adversely affect their growth and survival. In addition, several studies have pointed out the effect of climate change such as an increase in the concentration of atmospheric CO2, as well as an increase in global temperature on the distribution and wealth of plants. Adaptation to abiotic stress and survival occurs on different scales, at the cellular level for each individual, and requires a range of strategies, whether morphological, physiological, molecular or structural. Such strategies may be determinant in the distribution of plant species in natural habitats, depending on ecological adaptations shaped by the evolutionary history of species. In this chapter, we discuss recent information about mechanisms of plant adaptation to abiotic stress in the Neotropical savannah based on the cell and individual scales.