2020/05/03 by Andrea Carminati, Mathieu Javaux · 1 voice · 321 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Agronomy #Biology #Botany #Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance #Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics #Plant responses to water stress #Vulnerability (computing) #Xylem
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2020.04.003
published in Trends in Plant Science 25(9), 868-880 (Elsevier BV)
openalex publication_date 2020/05/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
The current trend towards linking stomata regulation to plant hydraulics emphasizes the role of xylem vulnerability. Using a soil-plant hydraulic model, we show that xylem vulnerability does not trigger stomatal closure in medium-wet to dry soils and we propose that soil hydraulic conductivity loss is the primary driver of stomatal closure. This finding has two key implications: transpiration response to drought cannot be derived from plant traits only and is related to soil-root hydraulics in a predictable way; roots and their interface with the soil, the rhizosphere, are key hydraulic regions that plants can alter to efficiently adapt to water limitations. We conclude that connecting below- and aboveground hydraulics is necessary to fully comprehend plant responses to drought.