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Stomatal Number and Size as Related to Soil Moisture in Tree Xerophytes in Israel
Author(s) -
Gindel I.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934854
Subject(s) - stomatal density , arid , biology , water content , irrigation , botany , ecophysiology , ecology , horticulture , photosynthesis , geotechnical engineering , engineering
Stomatal density and length were analyzed in 32 species of indigenous and acclimatized tree species grown under different ecological conditions. Mean leaf was calculated in 14 of them. Stomatal density was significantly higher in nonirrigated than in irrigated trees, whereas no significant differences were found in leaf area in 11 species. Stomata are present in the upper and lower epidermis of the leaf in most of the successfully acclimatized species and in some indigenous ones. These species, as compared to others in which stomata are present only in the lower epidermis, are distinguished by xerophytic properties. Many of them are able to grow without irrigation in an arid climate, in semidesert and water—depleted soil, surviving even during years of drought.