Abstract
Soil and plant hydraulics constrain ecosystem productivity by setting physical limits to water transport and hence carbon uptake by leaves. While more negative xylem water potentials provide a larger driving force for water transport, they also cause cavitation that limits hydraulic conductivity. An optimum balance between driving force and cavitation occurs at intermediate water potentials, thus defining the maximum transpiration rate the xylem can sustain (denoted as Emax). The presence of this maximum raises the question as to whether plants regulate transpiration through stomata to function near Emax. To address this question, we calculated Emax across plant functional types and climates using a hydraulic model and a global database of plant hydraulic traits. The predicted Emax compared well with measured peak transpiration across plant sizes and growth conditions (R=0.86, P
Keywords
hydraulic limitation; safetyefficiency trade-off; soilplantatmosphere model; trait coordination; transpiration; vulnerability to cavitation; xylem conductivity
Published in
New Phytologist
2013, volume: 198, number: 1, pages: 169-178
Publisher: WILEY-BLACKWELL
SLU Authors
Vico, Giulia
- Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Palmroth, Sari
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
UKÄ Subject classification
Forest Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12126
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/44324