Water deficits and hydraulic limits to leaf water supply

Many aspects of plant water use -- particularly in response to soil drought -- may have as their basis the alteration of hydraulic conductance from soil to canopy. The regulation of plant water potential (Psi) by stomatal control and leaf area adjustment may be necessary to maximize water uptake on the one hand, while avoiding loss of hydraulic contact with the soil water on the other. Modelling the changes in hydraulic conductance with pressure gradients in the continuum allows the prediction of water use as a function of soil environment and plant architectural and xylem traits. Large differences in water use between species can be attributed in part to differences in their 'hydraulic equipment' that is presumably optimized for drawing water from a particular temporal and spatial niche in the soil environment. A number of studies have identified hydraulic limits as the cause of partial or complete foliar dieback in response to drought. The interactions between root:shoot ratio, rooting depth, xylem properties, and soil properties in influencing the limits to canopy water supply can be used to predict which combinations should optimize water use in a given circumstance. The hydraulic approach can improve our understanding of the coupling of canopy processes to soil environment, and the adaptive significance of stomatal behaviour.     

Soil conditions and plant growth'

Plants can respond to soil conditions in ways that can not readily be explained in terms of the ability of the roots to take up water and nutrients. Roots may sense difficult conditions in the soil and thence send inhibitory signals to the shoots which harden the plants against the consequences of a deteriorating or restrictive environment, especially if the plants' water supply is at risk. Generally, this behaviour can be interpreted as feedforward responses to the soil becoming too dry or too hard, or to the available soil volume being very small as with bonsai plants, or to roots' becoming infected with pathogens. However, soil that is too soft or in which the roots are forced to grow in very large pores can also induce large conservative responses, the significance of which is unclear. The inhibitory signals may affect stomatal conductance, cell expansion, cell division and the rate of leaf appearance. Their nature is still under debate, and the debate is becoming increasingly complex, which probably signifies that a network of hormonal and other responses is involved in attuning the growth and development of a plant to its environment.     

Characteristic moisture curves and maximum water content of two crop residues

Limited data are available relating water potential () to crop residue water content (), although this relationship is important to study decomposition and moisture retention of the residue layer in no-till systems and other agricultural situations where residues are used. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine the characteristic moisture curves of rye (Secale cereale L.) and clover residues (Trifolium incarnatum L.), and (ii) to determine residue characteristics that can predict maximum water content of crop residues. Air-dried residues were separated into leaves and stems, cut into 0.5 cm length pieces and saturated with distilled water. Pieces of the drained residues were dried to various water contents in the laboratory and then transferred into thermocouple psychrometer chambers. Characteristic moisture functions of the type = a ^–b, where a and b are empirical constants, were fitted to the data. The characteristic moisture curves had a similar shape to that of a Cecil sandy loam soil used as an example; however, while plant residues were able to retain up to 4.3 g H₂O g^–1, the mineral soil retained only 0.22 g H₂O g^–1. Soluble carbohydrate concentration can be used as a practical index to estimate maximum water content of residues, given the good relationship between both variables (R ² = 0.92).     

Importance of permafrost as a source of water for plants in east Siberian taiga

Stable oxygen isotope ratios of plant water (sap water) were observed at Spasskaya Pad experimental forest near Yakutsk, Russia in 1997–1999. The ¹⁸O of sap water in larch trees (Larix gmelinii) decreased soon after leaf unfolding every year, indicating that snowmelt water was used in the beginning of summer. During mid to late summer, a clear difference in the water source used by plants was observed between wet summers and severe drought summers. The ¹⁸O values of water in larch trees were high (–17.8 to –16.1) in August 1999 (wet summer), but low (–20.4 to –19.7) in August 1998 (drought summer). These results indicated that plants used rainwater during a wet summer, but meltwater from permafrost was used by plants during a drought summer. One important role of permafrost is to provide a direct source of water for plants in a severe drought summer; another role is to keep surplus water in the soil until the next summer. If this permafrost system is disturbed by future global warming, unique monotypic stands of deciduous larch trees in east Siberia might be seriously damaged in a severe drought summer.     

Ecological status of some Finnish rivers evaluated using benthic diatom communities

The applicability of some diatom methods to quality assessment of differenttypes of Finnish rivers was compared using dominant taxa of diatomcommunities and nutrient level estimations using Trophic Diatom Index(TDI) and a new Phosphorus Diatom Equation (PDE) [Tot. P_calc (g l^-1) = 39 – 0.278 ol-% – 0.117 olme-% – 0.346me-% – 0.006 meeu-% + 1.193 eu-%; n = 97; r² = 0.742;SE = 17.4]. The overall quality estimations were done by Index ofPollution Sensitivity (IPS) and by Generic Diatom Index (GDI); limit valuesfor quality classes are proposed.     

Ecosystem function for water retention and forest ecosystem conservation in a watershed of the Yangtze River

The ecosystem function for water retention in a watershed of the Yangtze River was discussed in this study. The watershed was divided into 90 types of vegetation–soil–slope complex. A GIS-embodied spatial database was used to explore the relationships between the capacity of water retention by a complex and its types of vegetation, soil and slope. Furthermore, the capacity of water retention of every complex was estimated statistically by using estimation models. The spatial distribution of various capacity of water retention in the watershed was demarcated on a map based on the attributions and the locations of complexes. In addition, we evaluated integrally the situation of water retention in the watershed based on the estimation for the complexes from which it was distinctly recognized that the serious situation mainly results from the poor capacity of water retention of vegetation. The variation-location effect describes the phenomenon in which an identical variation of a factor may produce different effects on overall situation, when this variation occurs in a different spatial location. According to the variation-location effect on the expansion of forestland, a strategy 'spatial pattern-based forestland extension was proposed to conserve forest ecosystem and improve the situation of water retention in the watershed.     

Muscle electrolyte measurements during and after hypokinesia in determining muscle electrolyte depletion during hypokinesia in the rat

Hypokinesia (diminished movement) induces muscle mineral depletion. However, the mechanism of muscle mineral depletion during hypokinesia (HK) remains unknown. Measuring electrolyte retention and electrolyte values in muscle, plasma, and urine during and after HK, the aim of this study was to discover if HK could depress mineral retention and lead to muscle mineral depletion. Studies were done on 204 13-wk-old male Wistar rats (370–390 g) during 10 d pre-HK period, 98 d HK period, and 15 d post-HK period. Rats were equally divided into two groups: vivarium control rats (VCR) and hypokinetic rats (HKR). All hypokinetic rats were kept for 98 d in small individual cages, which restricted their movements in all directions without hindering food and water intakes. All control rats were housed for 98 d in individual cages under vivarium control conditions. Both groups of rats were pair-fed. During the HK period skeletal muscle sodium (Na), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and water content and electrolyte retention decreased significantly (p < 0.05), while urinary and plasma electrolyte levels increased significantly (p < 0.05) in HKR compared with their pre-HK values and their respective VCR. During the initial days of the post-HK period, mineral retention increased significantly (p < 0.05), plasma and urinary electrolyte level decreased significantly (p < 0.05), while muscle electrolyte and water content remained significantly (p < 0.05) depressed in HKR compared with VCR. Muscle mineral and water content, electrolyte retention, plasma, and urinary electrolyte values did not change in VCR compared with their pre-HK values. It was concluded that during HK decreased muscle mineral content may suggest muscle mineral depletion, while increased urinary electrolyte loss and muscle mineral depletion may demonstrate reduced mineral retention. Reduced electrolyte excretion and depressed muscle mineral content during post-HK may indicate skeletal muscle mineral depletion during HK. Dissociation between electrolyte retention and muscle mineral depletion may demonstrate the presence of decreased electrolyte retention as the mechanism of muscle electrolyte depletion during prolonged HK.     

Functions of lumican and fibromodulin: lessons from knockout mice

Lumican and fibromodulin are collagen-binding leucine-rich proteoglycans widely distributed in interstitial connective tissues. The phenotypes of lumican-null (Lum ^–/–), Fibromodulin-null (Fmod ^–/–) and compound double-null (Lum ^–/– Fmod ^–/–) mice identify a broad range of tissues where these two proteoglycans have overlapping and unique roles in modulating the extracellular matrix and cellular behavior. The lumican-deficient mice have reduced corneal transparency and skin fragility. The Lum ^–/– Fmod ^–/– mice are smaller than their wildtype littermates, display gait abnormality, joint laxity and age-dependent osteoarthritis. Misaligned knee patella, severe knee dysmorphogenesis and extreme tendon weakness are the likely cause for joint-laxity. Fibromodulin deficiency alone leads to significant reduction in tendon stiffness in the Lum ^+/+ Fmod ^–/– mice, with further loss in stiffness in a lumican gene dose-dependent way. At the level of ultrastructure, the Lum ^–/– cornea, skin and tendon show irregular collagen fibril contours and increased fibril diameter. The Fmod ^–/– tendon contains irregular contoured collagen fibrils, with increased frequency of small diameter fibrils. The tendons of Lum ^–/– Fmod ^–/– have an abnormally high frequency of small and large diameter fibrils indicating a de-regulation of collagen fibril formation and maturation. In tissues like the tendon, where both proteoglycans are present, fibromodulin may be required early in collagen fibrillogenesis to stabilize small-diameter fibril-intermediates and lumican may be needed at a later stage, primarily to limit lateral growth of fibrils Published in 2003.     

Effects of Soil Drought and Atmospheric Humidity on Yield,Gas Exchange,and Stable Carbon Isotope Composition of Barley

The combined effects of water status, vapour pressure deficit (VPD), and elevated temperature from heading to maturity were studied in barley. Plants growing at high VPD, either under well-watered or water deficit conditions, had higher grain yield and grain filling rate than plants growing at low VPD. By contrast, water stress decreased grain yield and individual grain dry matter at any VPD. Water regime and to a lesser extent VPD affected ¹³C of plant parts sampled at mid-grain filling and maturity. The differences between treatments were maximal in mature grains, where high VPD increased ¹³C for both water regimes. However, the total amount of water used by the plant during grain filling did not change as response to a higher VPD whereas transpiration efficiency (TE) decreased. The net photosynthetic rate (P _N) of the flag leaves decreased significantly under water stress at both VPD regimes. However, P _N of the ears was higher at high VPD than at low VPD, and did not decrease as response to water stress. The higher correlation of grain yield with P _N of the ear compared with that of the flag leaf support the role of ear as the main photosynthetic organ during grain filling under water deficit and high VPD. The deleterious effects of combined moderately high temperature and drought on yield were attenuated at high VPD.