Abstract
Almost all of a plant’s life activities involve electrochemical reactions. Plant electrical parameters respond quickly to environmental changes and are closely related to physiological activities. In this study, the theoretical intrinsic relationships between clamping force and leaf impedance (Z) or capacitive reactance (Xc) and capacitance (C) were revealed as 3-parameter exponential decay and linear models based on bioenergetics, respectively, for the first time. Leaf electrical characteristics including intrinsic impedance (IZ), capacitive reactance (IXc), capacitance (IC) and specific effective thickness (d) were successfully detected using the above-mentioned relationships and were used to manifest plant metabolic activity. The intracellular water-holding capacity (IWHC), water-use efficiency (IWUE), water-holding time (IWHT) and water transfer rate (WTR) of plant leaves were defined on the basis of IZ, IXc, IC and d, and applied to reflect the intracellular water metabolism. The results demonstrated that the leaves of Broussonetia papyrifera plants grown in agricultural soil had higher IC, d, IWHC, WTR, water content values and lower IZ, IXc values than those grown in moderately rocky desertified soil. The leaf IC, d, IWHC, WTR and water content values of herbaceous plants were higher than those of woody plants. Solanum tuberosum L. had higher leaf IC, d, IWHC and WTR values, but exhibited lower IZ, IXc, IWUE and IWHT values than Capsicum annuum L. This study highlighted that a plant’s electrical parameters based on bioenergetics clearly indicate its physiological process—e.g., the intracellular water metabolism.
Highlights
Almost all life activities in plants involve charge separation, electron movement, and proton and dielectric transport [1]
The results showed that the intracellular water metabolism and growth of herbaceous plants were more vigorous than those of woody plants, with lower IZ and IXc values, and higher intrinsic capacitance (IC), d, intracellular water-holding capacity (IWHC) and water transfer rate (WTR) values
The leaf intracellular water-use efficiency (IWUE) of S. tuberosum was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of C. annuum. These results demonstrated that the leaf IWUE is closely related to the intracellular water-holding time (IWHT) and that a long IWHT ensures the efficient utilization of intracellular water
Summary
Almost all life activities in plants involve charge separation, electron movement, and proton and dielectric transport [1]. The electrical parameters of plants are closely related to the plants’ life activities, including their metabolism of substances and energy, development, stress resistance and signal transduction. Most plant electrical parameters response to various stimuli and show low reproducibility [9,10]. The insertion of two electrodes into the stem or leaf is the traditional approach used for measuring electrical parameters in plants [11,12]. This method is unstable, difficult to manipulate and has low reliability. There is an urgent need to develop a method for monitoring the intrinsic electrical parameters in plants with high reproducibility
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
