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Compression wood has little impact on the water relations of Douglas‐fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ) seedlings despite a large effect on shoot hydraulic properties
Author(s) -
Spicer Rachel,
Gartner Barbara L.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00421.x
Subject(s) - shoot , douglas fir , hydraulic conductivity , stomatal conductance , compression (physics) , horticulture , botany , bent molecular geometry , bending , biology , environmental science , soil water , materials science , composite material , soil science , photosynthesis
Summary • Compression wood has been shown to reduce stem permeability, but it is not known to what extent it affects leaf‐level processes. Here, we report whole‐plant hydraulic properties of Douglas‐fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii ) seedlings induced to form varying amounts of compression wood. • Seedlings were grown under three bending treatments to assess the impact of compression wood on hydraulic properties, including stomatal conductance ( g s ), above‐ground shoot conductance ( K l(abg) ), and both specific and leaf area‐specific conductivity ( k s and k l , respectively). • K l(abg) was significantly lower (50% reduction) in severely bent seedlings than in controls. Similarly, both k s and k l of the main axis were significantly reduced (by 52% and 46%, respectively) in severely bent seedlings relative to controls. Seedlings in the moderate bending treatments had k s and k l that were intermediate between controls and severe bending. • Despite clear differences in above‐ground shoot hydraulic properties, severely bent seedlings maintained the same water potentials as controls and had similar diurnal patterns of g s . This suggests that when the entire soil–plant–atmosphere continuum is considered, even a severe reduction in stem k s caused by compression wood has little impact on leaf‐level processes.