A new look at water transport regulation in plants
Martínez Vilalta, Jordi, 1975- (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Retana Alumbreros, Javier (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Animal, de Biologia Vegetal i d'Ecologia)
Poyatos, Rafael (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Aguadé Vidal, David (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Mencuccini, Maurizio (University of Edinburgh. School ofGeoSciences)

Date:	2014
Abstract:	Plant function requires effective mechanisms to regulate water transport at a variety of scales. Here, we develop a new theoretical framework describing plant responses to drying soil, based on the relationship between midday and predawn leaf water potentials. The intercept of the relationship (Λ) characterizes the maximum transpiration rate per unit of hydraulic transport capacity, whereas the slope (σ) measures the relative sensitivity of the transpiration rate and plant hydraulic conductance to declining water availability. - This framework was applied to a newly compiled global database of leaf water potentials to estimate the values of Λ and σ for 102 plant species. - Our results show that our characterization of drought responses is largely consistent within species, and that the parameters Λ and σ show meaningful associations with climate across species. Parameter σ was ≤1 in most species, indicating a tight coordination between the gas and liquid phases of water transport, in which canopy transpiration tended to decline faster than hydraulic conductance during drought, thus reducing the pressure drop through the plant. - The quantitative framework presented here offers a new way of characterizing water transport regulation in plants that can be used to assess their vulnerability to drought under current and future climatic conditions.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CSD2008-00040 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación CGL2010-16373
Rights:	Tots els drets reservats.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Drought stress ; Isohydric/anisohydric behaviour ; Leaf water potential ; Plant hydraulics ; Stomatal responses ; Wateravailability ; Water transport ; Xylem embolism
Published in:	The new phytologist, Vol. 204, Issue 1 (Oct. 2014) , p. 105-115, ISSN 1469-8137

DOI: 10.1111/nph.12912
PMID: 24985503

Post-print 36 p, 1.2 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > CREAF (Centre de Recerca Ecològica i d'Aplicacions Forestals)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles