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Isometric partitioning of hydraulic conductance between leaves and stems: balancing safety and efficiency in different growth forms and habitats
Author(s) -
DRAKE PAUL L.,
PRICE CHARLES A.,
POOT PIETER,
VENEKLAAS ERIK J.
Publication year - 2015
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 - 10.1111/pce.12511
Subject(s) - conductance , scaling , shoot , trait , isometric exercise , hydraulic conductivity , arid , habitat , environmental science , botany , biological system , ecology , biology , mathematics , soil science , computer science , geometry , soil water , physiology , combinatorics , programming language
Abstract Recent advances in modelling the architecture and function of the plant hydraulic network have led to improvements in predicting and interpreting the consequences of functional trait variation on CO 2 uptake and water loss. We build upon one such model to make novel predictions for scaling of the total specific hydraulic conductance of leaves and shoots ( k L and k SH , respectively) and variation in the partitioning of hydraulic conductance. Consistent with theory, we observed isometric (slope = 1) scaling between k L and k SH across several independently collected datasets and a lower ratio of k L and k SH , termed the leaf‐to‐shoot conductance ratio ( C LSCR ), in arid environments and in woody species. Isometric scaling of k L and k SH supports the concept that hydraulic design is coordinated across the plant. We propose that C LSCR is an important adaptive trait that represents the trade‐off between efficiency and safety at the scale of the whole plant.