Stomatal sensitivities to changes in leaf water potential, air humidity, CO2 concentration and light intensity, and the effect of abscisic acid on the sensitivities in six temperate deciduous tree species

2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krõõt Aasamaa ◽  
Anu Sõber
2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dane S. Thomas ◽  
Derek Eamus

Deciduous trees of Australia’s northern savannas typically have less-negative leaf water potentials than evergreen species and their stomata are more sensitive to soil drought than those of evergreen species. This paper presents the first investigation of the role of xylem sap pH and abscisic acid content in explaining stomatal behaviour of Australian trees in the field. We measured stomatal conductance, leaf-to-air vapour pressure difference (D) and leaf water potential, xylem abscisic acid (ABA) concentration and xylem sap pH of evergreen, semideciduous and fully deciduous tree species in the field over a 15-month period. Measurements were made during both the wet and the dry seasons. Stomata closed in response to increasing D in both evergreen and deciduous species and were equally sensitive to increasing D or declining leaf water potential. Xylem ABA concentration increased with declining leaf water potential in evergreen and semi-deciduous species, but not deciduous species. Similarly, there was an inverse correlation between stomatal conductance and xylem ABA concentration. Xylem sap pH increased as leaf water potential declined from wet to dry season for evergreen and semi-deciduous species but not for deciduous species. Deciduous species had less-negative water potentials and lower xylem ABA concentrations than evergreen species or semi-deciduous species. We conclude that changes in xylem sap pH and ABA content do occur seasonally in the wet–dry tropics of Australia and that these changes influence stomatal conductance, but only in evergreen and semi-deciduous species. Deciduous species do not appear to modulate either of these chemical signals.


2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krõõt Aasamaa ◽  
Anu Sõber

The light sensitivity of the shoot hydraulic conductance in five temperate deciduous tree species was measured using two methods to clarify the role of light sensitivity and the suitability of the methods used to study it. The light sensitivity measured using a method that included an interruption of ≤10 min in shoot light acclimation did not differ from that measured using a method with continuous illumination. The ‘noncontinuous light’ methods are suitable for measuring hydraulic conductance and its light response. Light sensitivity correlated with other leaf water traits as follows: positively with the ion-mediated increase in xylem hydraulic conductance; a relative decrease in the hydraulic conductance of the laminae in response to HgCl2; a relative change in stomatal conductance in response to changes in PAR intensity or atmospheric CO2 concentration, or to a decrease in air humidity or leaf water potential; and with instantaneous water use efficiency. The traits correlated negatively with shoot hydraulic conductance, stomatal conductance and relative increases in stomatal conductance in response to increases in leaf water potential. We suggest that high light sensitivity should be considered as one of the characteristics of conservative water use in trees. Low blue light increased shoot hydraulic conductance to a similar extent to moderate white light and twice as much as moderate red light. Blue light perception is important in the light sensitivity mechanism.


2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mara de Menezes de Assis Gomes ◽  
Ana Maria Magalhães Andrade Lagôa ◽  
Camilo Lázaro Medina ◽  
Eduardo Caruso Machado ◽  
Marcos Antônio Machado

Thirty-month-old 'Pêra' orange trees grafted on 'Rangpur' lemon trees grown in 100 L pots were submitted to water stress by the suspension of irrigation. CO2 assimilation (A), transpiration (E) and stomatal conductance (g s) values declined from the seventh day of stress, although the leaf water potential at 6:00 a.m. (psipd) and at 2:00 p.m. (psi2) began to decline from the fifth day of water deficiency. The CO2 intercellular concentration (Ci) of water-stressed plants increased from the seventh day, reaching a maximum concentration on the day of most severe stress. The carboxylation efficiency, as revealed by the ratio A/Ci was low on this day and did not show the same values of non-stressed plants even after ten days of rewatering. After five days of rewatering only psi pd and psi2 were similar to control plants while A, E and g s were still different. When psi2 decreases, there was a trend for increasing abscisic acid (ABA) concentration in the leaves. Similarly, stomatal conductance was found to decrease as a function of decreasing psi2. ABA accumulation and stomatal closure occurred when psi2 was lower than -1.0 MPa. Water stress in 'Pera´ orange trees increased abscisic acid content with consequent stomatal closure and decreased psi2 values.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1285-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gu ◽  
S. G. Pallardy ◽  
K. P. Hosman ◽  
Y. Sun

Abstract. Using decade-long continuous observations of tree mortality and predawn leaf water potential (ψpd) at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) site, we studied how the mortality of important tree species varied along the isohydric to anisohydric continuum and how such variations may be predicted. Water stress determined inter-annual variations in tree mortality with a time delay of one year or more, which was predicted by predawn leaf water potential integral (PLWPI), mean effective precipitation interval (a time period with no daily precipitation rates exceeding a threshold) with a daily threshold precipitation at 5 mm day−1 (MEPI5), and precipitation variability index (PVI). Positive temperature anomaly integral (PTAI) and vapor pressure deficit integral (VPDI) also worked reasonably well, particularly for moderate droughts. The extreme drought of the year 2012 drastically increased the mortality of all species in the subsequent year. Regardless of the degree of isohydry and drought intensity, the ψpd of all species recovered rapidly after sufficiently intense rain events. This, together with a lack of immediate leaf and branch desiccation, suggests that hydraulic disconnection in the xylem was absent even during extreme drought and tree death was caused by significant but indirect effects of drought. We also found that species occupying middle positions along the isohydric to anisohydric continuum suffered less mortality than those at either extremes (i.e. extremely isohydric or extremely anisohydric). Finally, our study suggested that species differences in mortality mechanisms can be overwhelmed and masked in extreme droughts and should be examined in a broad range of drought intensity.


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