The water relations of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). IV. The dependence of the balance pressure on temperature as measured by the pressure-bomb technique

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the balance pressure is reported for shoots of Tsuga canadensis at constant volume, i.e., when water is neither added to nor removed from the shoot. Since the balance pressure closely equals minus the water potential, the temperature dependence of the balance pressure should reflect the combined temperature dependence of the osmotic and turgor pressures. Both the osmotic and the turgor pressures decline with decreasing temperature; frequently the turgor pressure declines 2 to 3 times more rapidly than the osmotic pressure, causing the balance pressure to rise with decreasing temperature. Only when the turgor pressure is zero (only beyond incipient plasmolysis) does the temperature dependence of the balance pressure closely follow the temperature dependence of the osmotic pressure; this occurs when the balance pressure equals or exceeds 24 bars.