Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Global change and plant water relations
- 2 Cavitation. A review: past, present and future
- 3 Effect of cavitation on the status of water in plants
- 4 Stomatal control of xylem cavitation
- 5 Refilling of embolized xylem
- 6 Interpretation of the dynamics of plant water potential
- 7 A proposed mechanism of freezing and thawing in conifer xylem
- 8 Winter xylem embolism and spring recovery in Betula cordifolia, Fagus grandifolia, Abies balsamea and Picea rubens
- 9 Drought resistance strategies and vulnerability to cavitation of some Mediterranean sclerophyllous trees
- 10 Relations between sap velocity and cavitation in broad-leaved trees
- 11 NMR and water transport in plants
- 12 The symplast radial-axial water transport in plants: a NMR approach
- 13 Reproductive adaptation by polyembryony of coniferous forest trees under climatic stress as revealed by the metabolism of tritiated water
- 14 A heat balance method for measuring sap flow in small trees
- 15 Heat pulse measurements on beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in relation to weather conditions
- 16 Extremely fast changes of xylem water flow rate in tall trees caused by atmospheric, soil and mechanic factors
- 17 Water relations and water transport in coppice vs. single stem Quercus cerris L. trees
- 18 Environmental control of water flux through Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait).
- 19 Evaluation of transpiration of apple trees and measurement of daily course of water flow within the main branches of walnut trees
- 20 Estimating citrus orchard canopy resistance from measurements of actual and potential transpiration
- 21 Stomatal conductance in tomato responds to air humidity
- 22 Water relations of Canarian laurel forest trees
- 23 Watering regime and photosynthetic performance of Gunnera tinctoria (Molina) Mirbel.
- 24 Water relations and ultrasound emissions in Douglas-fir seedlings infected with xylem pathogens
- 25 Diurnal fruit shrinkage: a model
- 26 Analysis of pressure-volume curves by non-linear regression
- 27 Determination of the amount of apoplastic water and other water relations parameters in conifer needles
- 28 The assessment of water status in chilled plants
- 29 An artificial osmotic cell: a model system for studying phenomena of negative pressure and for determining concentrations of solutes
- 30 Measurement of water and solute uptake into excised roots at positive and negative root pressures
- Index
4 - Stomatal control of xylem cavitation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- 1 Global change and plant water relations
- 2 Cavitation. A review: past, present and future
- 3 Effect of cavitation on the status of water in plants
- 4 Stomatal control of xylem cavitation
- 5 Refilling of embolized xylem
- 6 Interpretation of the dynamics of plant water potential
- 7 A proposed mechanism of freezing and thawing in conifer xylem
- 8 Winter xylem embolism and spring recovery in Betula cordifolia, Fagus grandifolia, Abies balsamea and Picea rubens
- 9 Drought resistance strategies and vulnerability to cavitation of some Mediterranean sclerophyllous trees
- 10 Relations between sap velocity and cavitation in broad-leaved trees
- 11 NMR and water transport in plants
- 12 The symplast radial-axial water transport in plants: a NMR approach
- 13 Reproductive adaptation by polyembryony of coniferous forest trees under climatic stress as revealed by the metabolism of tritiated water
- 14 A heat balance method for measuring sap flow in small trees
- 15 Heat pulse measurements on beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in relation to weather conditions
- 16 Extremely fast changes of xylem water flow rate in tall trees caused by atmospheric, soil and mechanic factors
- 17 Water relations and water transport in coppice vs. single stem Quercus cerris L. trees
- 18 Environmental control of water flux through Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait).
- 19 Evaluation of transpiration of apple trees and measurement of daily course of water flow within the main branches of walnut trees
- 20 Estimating citrus orchard canopy resistance from measurements of actual and potential transpiration
- 21 Stomatal conductance in tomato responds to air humidity
- 22 Water relations of Canarian laurel forest trees
- 23 Watering regime and photosynthetic performance of Gunnera tinctoria (Molina) Mirbel.
- 24 Water relations and ultrasound emissions in Douglas-fir seedlings infected with xylem pathogens
- 25 Diurnal fruit shrinkage: a model
- 26 Analysis of pressure-volume curves by non-linear regression
- 27 Determination of the amount of apoplastic water and other water relations parameters in conifer needles
- 28 The assessment of water status in chilled plants
- 29 An artificial osmotic cell: a model system for studying phenomena of negative pressure and for determining concentrations of solutes
- 30 Measurement of water and solute uptake into excised roots at positive and negative root pressures
- Index
Summary
SUMMARY
The role of stomatal responses in controlling the occurrence of xylem cavitations is discussed using a simple model of water flow in plants. It is shown that there can be situations where it may, at least in theory, be advantageous to a plant to allow the loss of a proportion of the conducting xylem elements. It is shown that this is a non-trivial conclusion, and further that the achievement of optimal stomatal behaviour may require information on soil water availability and cannot be based on leaf water potential alone.
INTRODUCTION
Although there has been increasing awareness in the past decade of the potential significance of xylem embolisms for plant water relations, there is still an incomplete understanding of the importance of cavitations and consequent xylem embolism as a major factor in plant adaptation to dry environments. In this chapter we attempt to provide a theoretical basis for consideration of the significance of xylem embolisms and the different ways by which different plant species survive and grow in drought conditions. It might be expected that any loss of functional xylem as a result of xylem embolism would be disadvantageous. It is possible, however, that adaptation to dry conditions may involve either mechanisms that minimise the occurrence of cavitations, or mechanisms that minimise their detrimental consequences. In general it seems likely that more ‘conservative’ behaviours that minimise cavitations (for example by reducing water loss through stomatal closure) will also reduce the chances of high productivity. Circumstances where some controlled cavitation may be advantageous in terms of productivity are identified and appropriate stomatal control functions are outlined.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Water Transport in Plants under Climatic Stress , pp. 41 - 51Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993