Creating an Electronic Analog of a Stomatal Network

Stomata are microscopic variable aperture pores on the surfaces of leaves. In response to different environmental stimuli, they control the exchange rate of both water vapor and carbon dioxide between the air and the leaf interior, making their role an important determination of the status of plant life on Earth. This study is based on a recently developed stomatal model in which the aperture size is governed by vapor phase humidity. The study describes an electronic analog of the stomatal unit; in it, current models water flow, a transistor represents the variable resistance of the stomatal aperture, capacitor voltages represent turgor pressure in cellular tissue, and variable potential sources represent outside stimuli such as humidity, light, and carbon dioxide. When wired together, the combined analog represents an entire stomatal array. With this electronic circuit, experiments can be conducted on analog plants that would normally be too difficult, too timeconsuming, or too dangerous to run in a laboratory setting using biological plants.