Getting variable xylem hydraulic resistance under control: interplay of structure and function

Getting variable xylem hydraulic resistance under control: interplay of structure and function.

Hydrogel control of xylem hydraulic resistance in plants.

Increasing concentrations of ions flowing through the xylem of plants produce rapid, substantial, and reversible decreases in hydraulic resistance. Changes in hydraulic resistance in response to solution ion concentration, pH, and nonpolar solvents are consistent with this process being mediated by hydrogels. The effect is localized to intervessel bordered pits, suggesting that microchannels in...

Xylem Structure and Function

The earliest land plants were short, herbaceous plants that evolved from primitive, water-living ancestors. For these plants, the change from a predominantly aquatic to a terrestrial environment was accompanied by the need for additional structural support to keep the plants upright and the need for more efficient transport of water to the aboveground parts of the plants. Larger plant sizes als...

Variable structure methods in hydraulic servo systems control

In the general framework of hydraulic servo systems, this paper addresses the problem of position control in the presence of important friction nonlinearities. The accent falls on the variable structure methodology, as we try to use its intrinsic robustness properties. Several friction observers, including the one based on a variable structure approach, were incorporated and tested in an accele...

Xylem hydraulic safety margins in woody plants: coordination of stomatal control of xylem tension with hydraulic capacitance

1. The xylem pressure inducing 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity due to embolism (P50) is widely used for comparisons of xylem vulnerability among species and across aridity gradients. However, despite its utility as an index of resistance to catastrophic xylem failure under extreme drought, P50 may have no special physiological relevance in the context of stomatal regulation of daily minimum ...