biologia plantarum

International journal on Plant Life established by Bohumil Němec in 1959

Biologia plantarum 46:49-55, 2003 | DOI: 10.1023/A:1022353915578

Quercus ilex Transpiration as Affected by a Prolonged Drought Period

J.M. Infante1, F. Domingo2, R. Fernández Alés3, R. Joffre, S. Rambal4
1 Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
2 Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (CSIC), Almería, Spain
3 Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
4 Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

The effect of an extended drought (from 1992 to 1995) on water relations was assessed on evergreen oak (Quercus ilex L.) in a dehesa ecosystem (Seville, Southern Spain). Diurnal and seasonal transpiration patterns were analysed at leaf (porometry) and whole-tree level (sap flow), focusing on the relationship between tree transpiration rates (Et) and potential evapotranspiration rates (PET). Daily maximum Et varied over the year, becoming higher between May and August, and lower between November and April. Annual Et (169 - 205 mm y-1) accounted for less than 40 % of annual rainfall. The prolonged drought did not affect the water relations of the Q. ilex, mainly due to strong stomatal regulation avoiding the loss of water. Stomatal control was found in all seasons, although it was stronger in summer. This behaviour leads to low water consumption and low Et/PET ratios throughout the year (0.05 to 0.27).

Keywords: holm oak; sap flow; stomatal regulation of gas exchange; water potential; water consumption
Subjects: evapotranspiration, prolonged drought period; gas exchange, drought stress; gas exchange, water stress; holm oak, transpiration, drought; Quercus ilex; sap flow, prolonged drought period; stomatal conductance, gas exchange; stomatal limitation of photosynthesis; water consumption, prolonged drought period; water potential, prolonged drought period; water stress, prolonged period, transpiration

Prepublished online: March 1, 2003; Published: July 1, 2003  Show citation

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Infante, J.M., Domingo, F., Fernández Alés, R., Joffre, R., & Rambal, S. (2003). Quercus ilex Transpiration as Affected by a Prolonged Drought Period. Biologia plantarum, 46(1), 49-55. doi: 10.1023/A:1022353915578
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