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Relations between stomatal closure, leaf turgor and xylem vulnerability in eight tropical dry forest trees
Author(s) -
BRODRIBB T. J.,
HOLBROOK N. M.,
EDWARDS E. J.,
GUTIÉRREZ M. V.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3040.2003.00975.x
Subject(s) - xylem , turgor pressure , biology , botany , stomatal conductance , transpiration , hydraulic conductivity , drought tolerance , water transport , range (aeronautics) , agronomy , water flow , ecology , environmental science , photosynthesis , soil water , materials science , environmental engineering , composite material
This study examined the linkage between xylem vulnerability, stomatal response to leaf water potential ( Ψ L ), and loss of leaf turgor in eight species of seasonally dry tropical forest trees. In order to maximize the potential variation in these traits species that exhibit a range of leaf habits and phenologies were selected. It was found that in all species stomatal conductance was responsive to Ψ L over a narrow range of water potentials, and that Ψ L inducing 50% stomatal closure was correlated with both the Ψ L inducing a 20% loss of xylem hydraulic conductivity and leaf water potential at turgor loss in all species. In contrast, there was no correlation between the water potential causing a 50% loss of conductivity in the stem xylem, and the water potential at stomatal closure ( Ψ SC ) amongst species. It was concluded that although both leaf and xylem characters are correlated with the response of stomata to Ψ L, there is considerable flexibility in this linkage. The range of responses is discussed in terms of the differing leaf‐loss strategies exhibited by these species.