Desiccation tolerance of Cissus quadrangularis assessed in a greenhouse experiment

Cissus quadrangularis is a succulent vine that degrades forests where it is not native by growing over trees and causing them to break or by impeding regeneration. Methods for its control have been tried but no satisfactory approach has been found yet. Thus, we carried out an experiment to analyze how much desiccation Cissus can endure before losing its ability to grow when rehydrated, using fragments of 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 internodes to test if desiccation tolerance was affected by fragment length. Additionally, we tested whether chemical treatment to break down the cuticle facilitated desiccation. We found out that Cissus remains viable after losing up to 80% of its weight, with shorter fragments losing viability at 70% weight loss. Acetone treatment did not accelerate desiccation time. Cissus has a remarkable tolerance to desiccation. Therefore, management strategies should ensure complete desiccation of Cissus fragments to prevent its regrowth. Reducing fragments to smaller sizes could..., This data is a product of two controlled experiments in the greenhouse. The available data is the data gathered during the course of the experiments. The data has not been transformed., , # Cissus quadrangularis desiccation experiment

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gtht76hvn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gtht76hvn)

This dataset contains two files with the results for two experiments.

1.The first file \"desiccation\" contains the results for a dessication experiment, to investigate C. quadrangularis resistance to desiccation and if that resistance is a function of fragment length. We took Cissus fragments of different lengths (0.5, 1, 2, or 3 internodes) and desiccated them at room temperature in the greenhouse and weighed them every week to monitor their mass loss. We weighed them until they reached a certain mass loss category (measured as a percentage of mass loss). We then repotted Cissus and assesed their viability. We considered that a cissus fragement was viable if it had shoot or root growth. We found that cissus fragments remained viable even after losing 80% of their mass content. 

2.The second file \"acetone\" contains the results of a second experiment in whi...