We measured net photosynthesis, leaf conductance, xylem water potential, and growth of Pinus strobus L. seedlings two years after planting on two clear-cut and burned sites in the southern Appalachians. Multiple regression analysis was used to relate seedling net photosynthesis to vapor pressure deficit, seedling crown temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), needle N, xylem wate...

Trees of tropical semi-deciduous forests range from "drought-avoiding" stem-succulent species with low-density wood (< 0.5 g cm(-3)), which maintain high stem water potentials (psi(STEM) > -0.7 MPa) throughout the year, to "drought-tolerant" deciduous hardwood species (wood density > 0.75 g cm(-3)), which dehydrate strongly during seasonal drought (psi(STEM) < -6 MPa). In stem-succulent and oth...

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 ...

We investigated the role of xylem cavitation, plant hydraulic conductance, and root pressure in the response of rice (Oryza sativa) gas exchange to water stress. In the field (Philippines), the percentage loss of xylem conductivity (PLC) from cavitation exceeded 60% in leaves even in watered controls. The PLC versus leaf water potential relationship indicated diurnal refilling of cavitated xyle...

Experiments were conducted with containerized ;Tahiti' lime (Citrus latifolia Tan.) trees in order to define conditions needed to induce flowering. Cyclical or continuous water stress for 4 to 5 weeks induced flowering. Moderate (-2.25 megapascals, midday) or severe (-3.5 megapascals, midday) water stress as measured by leaf xylem pressure potential, for as little as 2 weeks induced flowering, ...

In a recent Opinion paper, Wegner (Journal of Experimental Botany 65, 381-392, 2014) adapts a concept developed for water flow in animal tissues to propose a model, which can explain the loading of water into the root xylem against a difference in water potential (Ψ) between the xylem parenchyma cell (more negative Ψ) and the xylem vessel (less negative Ψ). In this model, the transport of water...

In a recent Opinion paper, Wegner (Journal of Experimental Botany 65, 381–392, 2014) adapts a concept developed for water flow in animal tissues to propose a model, which can explain the loading of water into the root xylem against a difference in water potential (Ψ) between the xylem parenchyma cell (more negative Ψ) and the xylem vessel (less negative Ψ). In this model, the transport of water...

• Motivated by the urgent need to understand how water stress-induced embolism limits the survival and recovery of plants during drought, the linkage between water-stress tolerance and xylem cavitation resistance was examined in one of the world's most drought resistant conifer genera, Callitris. • Four species were subjected to drought treatments of -5, -8 and -10 MPa for a period of 3-4 wk, a...

Leaf hydraulic supply is crucial to maintaining open stomata for CO2 capture and plant growth. During drought-induced dehydration, the leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) declines, which contributes to stomatal closure and, eventually, to leaf death. Previous studies have tended to attribute the decline of Kleaf to embolism in the leaf vein xylem. We visualized at high resolution and quantified ...

Hydraulic systems of plants have evolved in the context of carbon allocation and fitness tradeoffs of maximizing carbon gain and water transport in the face of short and long-term fluctuations in environmental conditions. The resulting diversity of traits include a continuum of isohydry-anisohydry or high to low relative stomatal closure during drought, shedding of canopy foliage or disconnecti...