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Phylogenetic and biogeographic controls of plant nighttime stomatal conductance
Author(s) -
Yu Kailiang,
Goldsmith Gregory R.,
Wang Yujie,
Anderegg William R. L.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1111/nph.15755
Subject(s) - herbaceous plant , phylogenetic tree , biology , context (archaeology) , ecology , stomatal conductance , specific leaf area , botany , photosynthesis , paleontology , biochemistry , gene
Summary The widely documented phenomenon of nighttime stomatal conductance g sn could lead to substantial water loss with no carbon gain, and thus it remains unclear whether nighttime stomatal conductance confers a functional advantage. Given that studies of g sn have focused on controlled environments or small numbers of species in natural environments, a broad phylogenetic and biogeographic context could provide insights into potential adaptive benefits of g sn . We measured g sn on a diverse suite of species ( n = 73) across various functional groups and climates‐of‐origin in a common garden to study the phylogenetic and biogeographic/climatic controls on g sn and further assessed the degree to which g sn co‐varied with leaf functional traits and daytime gas‐exchange rates. Closely related species were more similar in g sn than expected by chance. Herbaceous species had higher g sn than woody species. Species that typically grow in climates with lower mean annual precipitation – where the fitness cost of water loss should be the highest – generally had higher g sn . Our results reveal the highest g sn rates in species from environments where neighboring plants compete most strongly for water, suggesting a possible role for the competitive advantage of g sn .