BACKGROUND AND AIMS Changes in rainfall and temperature brought about through climate change may affect plant species distribution and community composition of grasslands. The primary objective of this study was to test how manipulation of water and temperature would influence the plasticity of stomatal density and leaf area of bluebunch wheatgrass, Pseudoroegneria spicata. It was hypothesized ...

Betula papyrifera trees were exposed to elevated concentrations of CO(2) (1.4 x ambient), O(3) (1.2 x ambient) or CO(2) + O(3) at the Aspen Free-air CO(2) Enrichment Experiment. The treatment effects on leaf surface characteristics were studied after nine years of tree exposure. CO(2) and O(3) increased epidermal cell size and reduced epidermal cell density but leaf size was not altered. Stomat...

Variation in ploidy levels in Phragmites australis is a welldocumented phenomenon although North American populations are less studied than European ones. It has been suggested, based on morphological measurements, that native and introduced P. australis subspecies in North America represent different ploidy levels. The objectives of this study were to assess whether guard cell size and stomata...

 Net photosynthesis rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E) of anise hyssop were measured during the four cloudless days, in reference to diurnal fluctuations of leaf temperature (Tleaf), leaf vapor pressure deficit (VPD leaf) and photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) in well watered (WW), stressed (S) and recovered (R) plants. An analysis of measured data showed tha...

BACKGROUND Both leaf attributes and stomatal traits are linked to water economy in land plants. However, it is unclear whether these two components are associated evolutionarily. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS In characterizing the possible effect of phylogeny on leaf attributes and stomatal traits, we hypothesized that a correlated evolution exists between the two. Using a phylogenetic compa...

One strategy for plants to optimize stomatal function is to open and close their stomata quickly in response to environmental signals. It is generally assumed that small stomata can alter aperture faster than large stomata. We tested the hypothesis that species with small stomata close faster than species with larger stomata in response to darkness by comparing rate of stomatal closure across a...