Stomatal conductance and transpiration of the two faces of Acacia phyllodes

Abstract

The daily course of stomatal conductance and transpiration was monitored on each separate face of vertical phyllodes of various acacias. The selected phyllodes had a north-south orientation so that one side faced eastwards and the other westwards. The principal measurements were made on Acacia longifolia and A. melanoxylon in Portugal in late summer and autumn, and additional measurements were made on A. ligulata and A. melanoxylon in Australia. In Portugal, irrespective of soil moisture status, conductance showed on early morning maximum with a subsequent gradual decline and sometimes a subsidiary peak in the late afternoon. Maximum conductances appeared to be a function of soil moisture status, whereas the decline in conductance in the late morning and afternoon was correlated with changes in phyllode-to-air vapour pressure deficits rather than changes in phyllode water status. The relationship of transpiration to phyllode water potential did not appear to be influenced by soil moisture status, although transpiration was less in drier soils and in the afternoons, this latter factor contributing to a marked hysteresis in the relationship. The opposing faces of the phyllodes exhibited a high degree of synchrony, showing parallel stomatal opening and closing, despite their large differences in irradiance. Stomatal conductance tended to be higher on the eastern faces in the morning and lower in the afternoon. In A. longifolia the daily average of relative conductance was much the same for both faces, but in A. melanoxylon that of the eastern face was higher and was retained even when the normal orientation of the phyllodes was reversed by turning them through 180°. Synchrony must be achieved by the stomata of both sides responding to common environmental or endogenous signals which are perceived by both surfaces with equal sensitivity.