Testing the plant pneumatic method to estimate xylem embolism resistance in stems of temperate trees

Tree Physiol. 2018 Jul 1;38(7):1016-1025. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpy015.

Abstract

Methods to estimate xylem embolism resistance generally rely on hydraulic measurements, which can be far from straightforward. Recently, a pneumatic method based on air flow measurements of terminal branch ends was proposed to construct vulnerability curves by linking the amount of air extracted from a branch with the degree of embolism. We applied this novel technique for 10 temperate tree species, including six diffuse, two ring-porous and two gymnosperm species, and compared the pneumatic curves with hydraulic ones obtained from either the flow-centrifuge or the hydraulic-bench dehydration method. We found that the pneumatic method provides a good estimate of the degree of xylem embolism for all angiosperm species. The xylem pressure at 50% and 88% loss of hydraulic conductivity (i.e., Ψ50 and Ψ88) based on the methods applied showed a strongly significant correlation for all eight angiosperms. However, the pneumatic method showed significantly reduced Ψ50 values for the two conifers. Our findings suggest that the pneumatic method could provide a fast and accurate approach for angiosperms due to its convenience and feasibility, at least within the range of embolism resistances covered by our samples.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cycadopsida / physiology
  • Magnoliopsida / physiology
  • Plant Stems / physiology
  • Plant Transpiration*
  • Trees / physiology*
  • Xylem / physiology*