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Two measures of leaf capacitance: insights into the water transport pathway and hydraulic conductance in leaves
Citation
Blackman, CJ and Brodribb, TJ, Two measures of leaf capacitance: insights into the water transport pathway and hydraulic conductance in leaves, Functional Plant Biology: An International Journal of Plant Function, 38, (2) pp. 118-126. ISSN 1445-4408 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2011 CSIRO
DOI: doi:10.1071/FP10183
Abstract
The efficiency and stress tolerance of leaf water transport are key indicators of plant function, but our ability to
assess these processes is constrained by gaps in our understanding of the water transport pathway in leaves.Amajor challenge
is to understand how different pools of water in leaves are connected to the transpiration stream and, hence, determine
leaf capacitance (Cleaf) to short- and medium-term fluctuations in transpiration. Here, we examine variation across an
anatomically and phylogenetically diverse group of woody angiosperms in two measures of Cleaf assumed to represent
bulk-leaf capacitance (Cbulk) and the capacitance of leaf tissues that influence dynamic changes in leaf hydration (Cdyn).
Among species, Cbulk was significantly correlated with leaf mass per unit area, whereas Cdyn was independently related to
leaf lignin content (%) and the saturated mass of leaf water per unit dry weight. Dynamic and steady-state measurements of
leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) agreed if Cdyn was used rather than Cbulk, suggesting that the leaf tissue in some species
is hydraulically compartmentalised and that only a proportion of total leaf water is hydraulically well connected to the
transpiration stream. These results indicate that leaf rehydration kinetics can accurately measure Kleaf with knowledge of
the capacitance of the hydraulic pathway.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | hydraulic compartmentalisation, leaf dry mass, leaf hydraulic conductance, leaf water content, rehydration kinetics |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Evolutionary biology |
| Research Field: | Biological adaptation |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
| Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
| Objective Field: | Terrestrial biodiversity |
| UTAS Author: | Blackman, CJ (Dr Christopher Blackman) |
| UTAS Author: | Brodribb, TJ (Professor Tim Brodribb) |
| ID Code: | 71955 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 68 |
| Deposited By: | Plant Science |
| Deposited On: | 2011-08-16 |
| Last Modified: | 2012-04-04 |
| Downloads: | 18 View Download Statistics |
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