Balancing Water Use and Carbon Investment in Leaves and Stems of Six Fruit Trees

Jenn Hoskins
3rd September, 2024

Balancing Water Use and Carbon Investment in Leaves and Stems of Six Fruit Trees

Image Source: Natural Science News, 2024

Key Findings

  • Researchers from Universidad de Chile studied water management in six fruit species: avocado, fig tree, mandarin, olive, pomegranate, and grapevine
  • They found that wood density (WDen) and water potential at the turgor loss point (TLP) are key traits for estimating plant water strategies
  • These traits are easy to measure and cost-effective, making them practical for predicting plant responses to changing water availability due to climate change
Understanding how plants manage water is crucial in the context of climate change. Traditional methods for determining water relation strategies in plants can be complex and time-consuming. To address this, researchers from Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile, have conducted a study[1] that proposes using simple, theoretically grounded traits to estimate these strategies in six fruit species: avocado, fig tree, mandarin, olive, pomegranate, and grapevine. The study focuses on the concept of iso-anisohydric strategy, which describes how plants regulate their stomata (tiny openings on leaves) in response to water availability. Isohydric plants keep their stomata closed to maintain stable water potential, while anisohydric plants keep them open longer, risking dehydration but potentially gaining more carbon through photosynthesis. To characterize these strategies, the researchers measured stomatal behavior, water potential at the turgor loss point (TLP), and hydroscape area. Additionally, they explored how these metrics relate to two easily measurable traits: leaf mass per area (LMA) and wood density (WDen). LMA indicates how much carbon a plant invests per unit leaf area, while WDen reflects carbon investment per unit stem volume. The study found a high coordination between LMA and WDen, suggesting that more anisohydric species tend to invest more carbon in their leaves and stems. This investment has implications for hydraulic efficiency (how effectively a plant moves water) and water stress tolerance. The researchers concluded that WDen and TLP are the most powerful traits for estimating water relation strategies. These traits are not only easy to measure but also cost-effective, making them practical for widespread use. The findings are significant because they offer a simpler way to understand and predict how different plant species will respond to changing water availability due to climate change. This study builds on previous research that has explored the relationship between wood density and vulnerability to cavitation (the formation of air bubbles in the xylem, which can block water transport) in Eucalyptus species[2]. It was found that wood density is a crucial factor in determining a plant's vulnerability to cavitation, with denser wood generally being more resistant. The current study extends this by showing that wood density is also a reliable indicator of broader water relation strategies in a variety of fruit species. Moreover, the study's findings align with research on conifers, which has demonstrated that different species evolve distinct mechanisms to cope with water stress[3]. For example, some conifers rely on high levels of the hormone abscisic acid (ABA) to close their stomata, while others use leaf desiccation to achieve the same effect. Both strategies involve a coordinated evolution of tissues regulating water supply and loss, similar to the coordination between LMA and WDen observed in the current study. The new study also provides empirical support for the hypothesis that vascular embolisms caused by water stress can lead to plant death, a concept highlighted in earlier research[4]. By identifying WDen and TLP as key traits for estimating water relation strategies, the study offers a practical approach to predicting how different species will fare under increasing drought conditions, thereby contributing to more accurate models of forest mortality and plant damage in response to dehydration. In summary, the research from Universidad de Chile provides a valuable framework for understanding plant water relation strategies using simple, measurable traits. This approach not only simplifies the process but also offers reliable predictions, making it a significant step forward in the study of plant responses to climate change.

FruitsAgriculturePlant Science

References

Main Study

1) Coordination between water relations strategy and carbon investment in leaf and stem in six fruit tree species.

Published 2nd September, 2024

https://doi.org/10.1071/FP24008

Related Studies

2) Functional relationships between wood structure and vulnerability to xylem cavitation in races of Eucalyptus globulus differing in wood density.

https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpx138

3) Conifer species adapt to low-rainfall climates by following one of two divergent pathways.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1407930111

4) Linking xylem network failure with leaf tissue death.

https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17577


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