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Day length regulates seasonal patterns of stomatal conductance in Quercus species
Author(s) -
Granda Elena,
Baumgarten Frederik,
Gessler Arthur,
GilPelegrin Eustaquio,
PegueroPina Jose Javier,
SanchoKnapik Domingo,
Zimmermann Niklaus E.,
Resco de Dios Víctor
Publication year - 2020
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.13665
Subject(s) - transpiration , vapour pressure deficit , stomatal conductance , photoperiodism , biology , environmental science , ecophysiology , botany , atmospheric sciences , ecology , horticulture , photosynthesis , geology
Vapour pressure deficit is a major driver of seasonal changes in transpiration, but photoperiod also modulates leaf responses. Climate warming might enhance transpiration by increasing atmospheric water demand and the length of the growing season, but photoperiod‐sensitive species could show dampened responses. Here, we document that day length is a significant driver of the seasonal variation in stomatal conductance. We performed weekly gas exchange measurements across a common garden experiment with 12 oak species from contrasting geographical origins, and we observed that the influence of day length was of similar strength to that of vapour pressure deficit in driving the seasonal pattern. We then examined the generality of our findings by incorporating day‐length regulation into well‐known stomatal models. For both angiosperm and gymnosperm species, the models improved significantly when adding day‐length dependences. Photoperiod control over stomatal conductance could play a large yet underexplored role on the plant and ecosystem water balances.