Abstract:
In this presentation I will demonstrate that vascular plants, not only woody species but also grass and sedge species, feature a “tip-to-base” widening of their vascular systems. Their xylem vessels widen from the tip to the base, from leaves, via stems, to roots, in a way that maintains the same conductance per unit leaf area with plant growth in height. This tip-to-base widening xylem architecture minimizes the energy cost of long-distance water transport. These patterns are shared across a broad range of species, and within species across a broad range of climatic conditions, implying that natural selection on the axial distribution of xylem vessels acts mainly via uniform biophysical principles of plant functional integrity, and much less via niche differentiation and divergent ecological strategies. Additionally, water ascends from the soil, progressively through plant stem and leaf xylem vessels, all the way up to the terminal stomata, under the negative pressure created by stomatal transpiration. To promote successful water transportation, coordination of stomatal and xylem traits is required to maintain a balance in water exchange between the liquid (water delivery) and the vapor (water loss) phase. I will demonstrate how plants achieve this balance via a convergent allometric coordination of xylem area and total stomatal area from entire individuals to individual leaves. Our next work is to test how this pattern converges or diverges among different species and populations, among different environments along and within climatic gradients.
Speaker: Dr. Mengying Zhong
Affiliation: Peking University
Time: 4:30 PM, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022
Venue: ZOOM 会议平台 会议 ID：312 430 8960 会议密码 PWD：666666
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ZOOM
会议 ID：312 430 8960
会议密码 PWD：666666
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