Hydraulic Conductance and Stomatal Sensitivity to Changes of Leaf Water Status in Six Deciduous Tree Species

Abstract

The relationship between shoot hydraulic conductance (L) and stomatal sensitivity to changes in leaf water status was studied in the saplings of six deciduous tree species. L increased significantly in sequence: Acer platanoides < Tilia Cordata < Padus avium = Quercus robur < Salix caprea = Populus tremula. L was higher in the trees grown in soil with a higher nitrogen content and lower in the trees grown under mild water stress or kept in darkness for several days. L was higher in July than in September in all the species. L correlated positively with maximum photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and stomatal sensitivity to an increase in leaf water potential, but negatively with stomatal sensitivity to a decrease in leaf water potential. The correlations between L and any other parameter were approximated by three different curves: data for water-stressed plants fit to the first, data for plants kept in darkness fit to the second and all the other data fit to the third curve. The reasons of the differences of shoot hydraulic conductance in the different experimental sets and the mechanisms which may cause the correlation between L and the other characteristics are discussed.