Biologia plantarum 39:633-637, 1997 | DOI: 10.1023/A:1001725808647
Hydraulic Conductance and Water Potential Differences Inside Leaves of Tropical Evergreen and Deciduous Species
- 1 Laboratorio de Biología Ambiental de Plantas, Departamento de Biología de Organismos, Universidad Simon Bolívar, Apartado 89.000, Caracas, Venezuela
Several pieces of research suggest that leaf liquid-path conductance (K1) may be smaller in evergreen species (EG) than in deciduous species (DC), coexisting in tropical dry forests. This was investigated in four DC and two EG in a tropical dry forest in Venezuela. The K1 (kg m-2 MPa-1 s-1) were consistently lower in EG (8.4 × 10-5) than in DC (12 to 20 × 10-5). Differences in water potential (ΔΨW) inside the leaves were calculated using K1 values in connection with maximum transpiration rates measured in the field. It was found that ΔΨW was about 1.9 MPa in EG, intermediate for one DC (Pithecellobium dulce, 1.7 MPa) and minimum for other DC (1.0 to 1.3 MPa).
Keywords: Beureria cumanensis; Capparis aristiguetae; Coursetia arborea; Lonchocarpus dipteroneurus; Morisonia americana; Pithecellobium dulce
Subjects: Beureria cumanensis; Capparis aristiguetae; Coursetia arborea; hydraulic conductance inside leaves; Lonchocarpus dipteroneurus; Morisonia americana; Pithecellobium dulce; tropical species, water relations; water potential inside leaves
Published: December 1, 1997 Show citation
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