Plant resistance to drought depends on timely stomatal closure
Écologie des Forêts Méditerranéennes · Université de Bordeaux · +2 more institutions
Abstract
Stomata play a significant role in the Earth's water and carbon cycles, by regulating gaseous exchanges between the plant and the atmosphere. Under drought conditions, stomatal control of transpiration has long been thought to be closely coordinated with the decrease in hydraulic capacity (hydraulic failure due to xylem embolism). We tested this hypothesis by coupling a meta-analysis of functional traits related to the stomatal response to drought and embolism resistance with simulations from a soil-plant hydraulic model. We report here a previously unreported phenomenon: the existence of an absolute limit by which stomata closure must occur to avoid rapid death in drought conditions. The water potential…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 36.26
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 68
Authors
3Topics & keywords
- Xylem
- Transpiration
- Resistance (ecology)
- Embolism
- Biology
- Drought resistance
- Closure (psychology)
- Hydraulic resistance
- Clean water and sanitation