Download or read book On the Contribution of Leaf Surface Wetness Leaf Size and Leaf Longevity to Variation in Leaf Water and Carbon Balance written by Kevin Allen Simonin and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is widely recognized that many aspects of plant form and function are coupled to variation in water availability. This is because plant persistence is ultimately dependent upon the process of carbon fixation and it is physically impossible for a plant to transport CO2 to the sites of photosynthetic metabolism inside the leaf without, at the same time, loosing water to the surrounding atmosphere. How the efficiency of water use changes as leaves differ in size and longevity, and where leaves acquire their water from, are often times not well defined. In general, the water lost to the atmosphere by leaves is thought to originate from the soil via uptake by roots. However, previous research has shown that water deposited on leaf surfaces is often available for use via direct foliar uptake. Using field observations and a greenhouse experiment I show that leaf water interception can represent an overlooked water source for leaves that temporarily, but significantly, decouples leaf-level water and carbon relations from variation in soil water availability (Chapter 1). Additionally, within a particular environment water loss per unit leaf area is expected to increase with leaf size. Recent research suggests the construction cost of a leaf also increases with size and/or longevity. If leaves have maximized the ability to transport water to surfaces for energy and gas exchange in order to maximize CO2 uptake from the atmosphere, then vascular network efficiency (Leaf hydraulic conductance) should be size invariant. Using a survey of 60 angiosperm species I show that leaf hydraulic conductance is maximized for a given surface area (Chapter 2). By extension, if the lifetime return (carbon gain) on dry-mass invested in leaf area (construction cost plus maintenance respiration per unit leaf area) is maximized, then leaf hydraulic conductance per unit leaf dry mass should scale isometrically with leaf lifespan. Using plants from a common garden and previously published values of leaf lifespan and leaf hydraulic conductance for species inhabiting a broad range of vegetation types and climate, I explored the relationship between leaf longevity and leaf hydraulic conductance per unit leaf mass. I observed a negative correlation between leaf hydraulic conductance per unit leaf mass and leaf lifespan. Further, the slope of the relationship describing the covariation between leaf hydraulic conductance per unit mass and leaf lifespan is not significantly different from one. Isometric scaling (slope = 1) provides strong support for a constant net carbon gain per leaf despite significant variation in leaf size, longevity and environment. Therefore, variation in gross primary productivity is a function of the number of leaves a plant maintains over a given unit of time (Chapter 3).
Download or read book Ecology of Leaf Longevity written by Kihachiro Kikuzawa and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2011-06-21 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leaf longevity is a fundamental process underlying patterns of variation in foliar phenology and determining the distinction between deciduous and evergreen plant species. Variation in leaf longevity is associated with a wide array of differences in the physiology, anatomy, morphology and ecology of plants. This book brings together for the first time information scattered widely in the botanical literature to provide a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and significance of variation in leaf longevity. It traces the development of ideas about leaf longevity from the earliest descriptive studies to contemporary theory of leaf longevity as a key element in the function of leaves as photosynthetic organs. An understanding of variation in leaf longevity reveals much about the nature of adaptation at the whole plant level and provides fundamental insights into the basis of variation in plant productivity at the ecosystem level. The analysis of leaf longevity also provides a process-based perspective on phenological shifts associated with the changing climate. Readers will find this an informative synthesis summarizing and illustrating different views in a readily accessible narrative that draws attention to a central but too often unappreciated aspect of plant biology. The nature and causes of seasonal patterns in the birth and death of individual plant leaves are essential to the understanding of the health of plant communities, biomes, and consequently our planet.
Download or read book Ecophysiological Significance of Leaf Surface Wetness for Terrestrial Plants written by Carol A. Brewer and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Growth of Leaves Proceedings written by Frederick Leon Milthorpe and published by . This book was released on 1956 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Leaf Longevity written by Kihachiro Kikuzawa and published by . This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Significance of the Leaf Surface During Drought written by Christian Henry and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The leaf surface is the locus of a multitude of physiological processes important in determining plant performance including responses to the environment. In my dissertation research, I identified specific adaptive and functional roles and constraints on stomata and trichomes. My approach utilized physiological experiments on diverse species native to California with potential applications toward understanding and improving plant drought tolerance. First, I clarified the mechanistic basis for leaf level drought response and the regulatory factors by which a stomatal safety-efficiency trade-off arises across diverse woody angiosperms. Second, I quantified foliar water uptake across diverse pairs of native California tree, shrub, and vine species with contrasting trichome densities adapted to a wide range of aridity. Lastly, I tested whether trichome presence was associated with differences in light-saturated gas exchange, water use efficiency, and climatic variables across diverse California species. This work highlighted underlying factors influencing water relations and gas exchange, including constraints on stomatal function and the key role of leaf trichomes, providing a clearer picture of the importance of these structures in species evolution and ecology.
Download or read book Soil Fertilizer and Plant Silicon Research in Japan written by Jian Feng Ma and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2002-08-09 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Silicon (Si) plays a significant role in the resistance of plants to multiple stresses including biotic and abiotic stresses. Silicon is also the only element that does not damage plants when accumulated in excess. However, the contribution of Si to plant growth has been largely ignored due to its universal existence in the earth's crust. From numerous intensive studies on Si, initiated in Japan about 80 years ago, Japanese scientists realized that Si was important for the healthy growth of rice and for stability of rice production. In a worldwide first, silicon was recognized as a valuable fertilizer in Japan. The beneficial effects of Si on rice growth in particular, are largely attributable to the characteristics of a silica gel that is accumulated on the epidermal tissues in rice. These effects are expressed most clearly under high-density cultivation systems with heavy applications of nitrogen. Si is therefore recognized now as an ''agronomically essential element'' in Japan. Recently, Si has become globally important because it generates resistance in many plants to diseases and pests, and may contribute to reduced rates of application of pesticides and fungicides. Silicon is also now considered as an environment-friendly element. The achievements of Si research in Japan are introduced in this book, in relation to soils, fertilizers and plant nutrition.
Download or read book Climate Change and Terrestrial Ecosystem Modeling written by Gordon Bonan and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-21 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides an essential introduction to modeling terrestrial ecosystems in Earth system models for graduate students and researchers.
Download or read book Vascular Epiphytes written by David H. Benzing and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-01-07 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This synthesis of the growing body of information from research on epiphytes and their relations with other tropical biota provides a comprehensive overview of basic functions, life history, evolution, and the place of epiphytes in complex tropical communities. Epiphytes comprise more than one-third of the tropical vascular flora in some tropical forests. Growing within tropical forest canopies, epiphytes are subject to severe environmental constraints, and their diverse adaptations make them a rich resource for studies of water balance, nutrition, reproduction and evolution.
Download or read book Water Radiation Salt and Other Stresses written by J. Levitt and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2015-12-04 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Responses of Plants to Environmental Stresses, Second Edition, Volume II: Water, Radiation, Salt, and Other Stresses focuses on the effects of stresses on plants. This book discusses how stresses produce their damaging effects and how living organisms defend themselves against stresses. Organized into six parts encompassing 12 chapters, this edition starts with an overview of the various responses of plants to the severities of all the other environmental stresses, with emphasis on the physical and biological stresses and strains. This text then describes water stress in plants, which arise either from an excessive or from an insufficient water activity in the plant's environment. Other chapters consider the resistance to drought stress of plants. This book discusses as well the effects of flooding, which replaces gaseous air by liquid water. The final chapter deals with the comparative stress responses of plants. This book is a valuable resource for plant biologists.
Download or read book Inanimate Life written by George M. Briggs and published by . This book was released on 2021-07-16 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Adaptive Geometry of Trees written by Henry S. Horn and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 1971-06-21 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through use of the models Professor Horn has devised, plant ecologists, foresters, and botanists will be able to predict the growth and productivity of a forest, the invading and senile species in a forest, the effect of shade tolerance on forest succession, and similar questions.
Download or read book Responses of Plants to Environmental Stresses written by Jacob Levitt and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Chicago s Urban Forest Ecosystem written by E. Gregory McPherson and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fundamentals of Rice Crop Science written by Shouichi Yoshida and published by Int. Rice Res. Inst.. This book was released on 1981 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growth and development of the rice plant. Climatic environments and its influence. Mineral nutrition of rice. Nutritional disorders. Photosynthesis and respiration. Rice plant characters in relation to yielding ability. Physiological analysis of rice yield.
Download or read book Bibliography of Agriculture written by and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 876 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Root Ecology written by Hans de Kroon and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2003-05-21 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the course of evolution, a great variety of root systems have learned to overcome the many physical, biochemical and biological problems brought about by soil. This development has made them a fascinating object of scientific study. This volume gives an overview of how roots have adapted to the soil environment and which roles they play in the soil ecosystem. The text describes the form and function of roots, their temporal and spatial distribution, and their turnover rate in various ecosystems. Subsequently, a physiological background is provided for basic functions, such as carbon acquisition, water and solute movement, and for their responses to three major abiotic stresses, i.e. hard soil structure, drought and flooding. The volume concludes with the interactions of roots with other organisms of the complex soil ecosystem, including symbiosis, competition, and the function of roots as a food source.
