Thermocouple psychrometers are the only instruments which can measure the in situ water potential of intact leaves, and which can possibly be used to monitor leaf water potential. Unfortunately, their usefulness is limited by a number of difficulties, among them fluctuating temperatures and temperature gradients within the psychrometer, sealing of the psychrometer chamber to the leaf, shading o...

Stomata of corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) responded to changes in leaf water potential during the vegetative growth phase. During reproductive growth, leaf resistances were minimal and stomata were no longer sensitive to bulk leaf water status even when leaf water potentials approached -27 bars. Stomata of corn, cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), and sorghum appear to respond ...

Effects of water deficits on leaf turgor maintenance processes were analyzed for pear trees (Pyrus communis L. cv. "Barlett") grown in 120-liter containers. Four irrigation treatments were applied: a well-watered control treatment, a spring water stress cycle (Sp), a summer water stress cycle (Su), and a spring plus summer water stress cycle (Sp + Su). For the Sp treatment, water application wa...

One of the most tantalizing unresolved questions in plant hydraulics is: where does water evaporate within the leaf? While several studies have explored experimental routes to answer this question (e.g. Sheriff & Meidner 1974; Farquhar & Raschke 1978), none have been able to provide a clear answer. In this issue of Plant, Cell & Environment, Tom Buckley has presented a new mathematical model in...

Changes in land use may lead to increased soil nutrient levels in many ecosystems (e.g. due to intensification of agricultural fertilizer use). Plant species differ widely in their response to differences in soil nutrients, and for savannas it is uncertain how this nutrient enrichment will affect plant community dynamics. We set up a large controlled short-term experiment in a semi-arid savanna...

Leaf area expansion, dry weight, and water relations of Phaseolus vulgaris L. and P. acutifolius Gray were compared during a drying cycle in the greenhouse to understand the characteristics which contribute to the superior drought tolerance of P. acutifolius. Stomates of P. acutifolius closed at a much higher water potential than those of P. vulgaris, delaying dehydration of leaf tissue. P. acu...

Suboptimal levels of phosphorus (P) strongly inhibited leaf expansion in young cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plants during the daytime, but had little effect at night. The effect of P was primarily on cell expansion. Compared to plants grown on high P, plants grown on low P had lower leaf water potentials and transpiration rates, and greater diurnal fluctuations in leaf water potential. Hydrau...

We examined the tradeoffs between stand-level water use and carbon uptake that result when biomass production of trees in plantations is maximized by removing nutrient and water limitations. A Populus trichocarpa Torr. x P. deltoides Bartr. & Marsh. plantation was irrigated and received frequent additions of nutrients to optimize biomass production. Sap flux density was measured continuously ov...

This study investigates the applicability of empirical and radiative transfer models to estimate water content at leaf and landscape level. Themain goal is to evaluate and compare the accuracy of these two approaches for estimating leaf water content by means of laboratory reflectance/transmittance measurements and for mapping leaf and canopy water content by using airborne Multispectral Infrar...

Leaf N concentration is important because it is associated with the CO2 assimilatory capacity of crops, and in grasslands, it is an important determinant of forage nutritive value. Consequently, the productivity of both domestic and native animals in future global environments may be closely linked to possible changes in leaf N concentration of grasses. Since grasslands are frequently subjected...