This study was performed on hybrid aspen saplings growing at the Free Air Humidity Manipulation site in Estonia. We investigated changes in wood anatomy and hydraulic conductivity in response to increased air humidity. Two hydraulic traits (specific conductivity and leaf-specific conductivity) and four anatomical traits of stem wood-relative vessel area (VA), vessel density (VD), pit area and pit aperture area-were influenced by the humidity manipulation. Stem hydraulic traits decreased in the apical direction, whereas branch hydraulic characteristics tended to be greatest in mid-canopy, associated with branch size. A reduction in VD due to increasing humidity was accompanied by a decrease in vessel lumen diameter, hydraulically weighted mean diameter (Dh), xylem vulnerability index and theoretical hydraulic conductivity. VA and Dh combined accounted for 87.4% of the total variation in kt of branches and 85.5% of that in stems across the treatments. Characters of branch vessels were more stable, and only the vessel-grouping index (the ratio of the total number of vessels to the total number of vessel groupings) was dependent on the interactive effect of the treatment and canopy position. Our results indicate that the increasing atmospheric humidity predicted for high latitudes will result in moderate changes in the structure and functioning of the hybrid aspen xylem.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/FP14224 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Xylem Hydraulics of Two Temperate Tree Species with Contrasting Growth Rates.
Plants (Basel)
December 2024
CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Management, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China.
Hydraulic functionality is crucial for tree productivity and stress tolerance. According to the theory of the fast-slow economics spectrum, the adaptive strategies of different tree species diverge along a spectrum defined by coordination and trade-offs of a suite of functional traits. The fast- and slow-growing species are expected to differ in hydraulic efficiency and safety; however, there is still a lack of investigation on the mechanistic association between tree growth rate and tree hydraulic functionality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResolving the contrasting leaf hydraulic adaptation of C and C grasses.
New Phytol
January 2025
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Dr. South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
Grasses are exceptionally productive, yet their hydraulic adaptation is paradoxical. Among C grasses, a high photosynthetic rate (A) may depend on higher vein density (D) and hydraulic conductance (K). However, the higher D of C grasses suggests a hydraulic surplus, given their reduced need for high K resulting from lower stomatal conductance (g).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRelationship between wind speed and plant hydraulics at the global scale.
Nat Ecol Evol
January 2025
ARC Centre for Plant Success in Nature & Agriculture, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Wind is an important ecological factor for plants as it can increase evapotranspiration and cause dehydration. However, the impact of wind on plant hydraulics at a global scale remains unclear. Here we compiled plant key hydraulic traits, including water potential at 50% loss of hydraulic conductivity (P), xylem-specific hydraulic conductivity (K), leaf area to sapwood area ratio (A/A) and conduit diameter (D) with 2,786 species-at-site combinations across 1,922 woody species at 469 sites worldwide and analysed their correlations with wind speed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranscriptome-based WGCNA reveals the molecular regulation of xylem plasticity in acclimation to drought and rewatering in mulberry.
Front Plant Sci
December 2024
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural and Animal Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China.
Xylem plasticity is important for trees to coordinate hydraulic efficiency and safety under changing soil water availability. However, the physiological and transcriptional regulations of cambium on xylem plasticity are not well understood. In this study, mulberry saplings of drought-resistant Wubu and drought-susceptible Zhongshen1 were subjected to moderate or severe drought stresses for 21 days and subsequently rewatered for 12 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorner's Rules and Their Linkages With Twig Functions and Tree Productivity in Simple- and Compound-Leaved Tree Species.
Plant Cell Environ
December 2024
CAS Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Silviculture, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
Corner's rules are well known in describing inter-specific scaling relationships for plant organ size-related traits, from species with thick terminal stems, large leaves, and sparsely branched twigs to species with opposite traits; however, the implications of organ size on physiological functions and growth performance of trees remain unclear. Moreover, whether Corner's rules spectra differ between tree species with simple and compound leaves is not known. Here, we measured key twig morphological traits, physiological characteristics, and radial growth rates of 27 simple- and 6 compound-leaved tree species in a common garden in Northeast China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!