Think tank: water relations of Bromeliaceae in their evolutionary context

Abstract

Water relations represent a pivotal nexus in plant biology due to the multiplicity of functions affected by water status. Hydraulic properties of plant parts are therefore likely to be relevant to evolutionary trends in many taxa. Bromeliaceae encompass a wealth of morphological, physiological and ecological variations and the geographical and bioclimatic range of the family is also extensive. The diversification of bromeliad lineages is known to be correlated with the origins of a suite of key innovations, many of which relate directly or indirectly to water relations. However, little information is known regarding the role of change in morphoanatomical and hydraulic traits in the evolutionary origins of the classical ecophysiological functional types in Bromeliaceae or how this role relates to the diversification of specific lineages. In this paper, I present a synthesis of the current knowledge on bromeliad water relations and a qualitative model of the evolution of relevant traits in the context of the functional types. I use this model to introduce a manifesto for a new research programme on the integrative biology and evolution of bromeliad water-use strategies. The need for a wide-ranging survey of morphoanatomical and hydraulic traits across Bromeliaceae is stressed, as this would provide extensive insight into structure–function relationships of relevance to the evolutionary history of bromeliads and, more generally, to the evolutionary physiology of flowering plants.