Use of positive pressures to establish vulnerability curves: Further support for the air-seeding hypothesis and implications for pressure-volume analysis

Loss of hydraulic conductivity occurs in stems when the water in xylem conduits is subjected to sufficiently negative pressure. According to the air-seeding hypothesis, this loss of conductivity occurs when air bubbles are sucked into water-filled conduits through micropores adjacent to air spaces i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant physiology (Bethesda) 1992-09, Vol.100 (1), p.205-209
Main Authors: Cochard, H, Cruiziat, P, Tyree, M.T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AIR
Air pressure
AIRE
BRANCHE
Cavitation flow
Dehydration
Embolisms
Environmental and Stress Physiology
Genetics
Hydraulic conductivity
Life Sciences
Moisture content
Plants genetics
POPULUS DELTOIDES
POTENTIEL HYDRIQUE
PRESION
PRESSION
Pressure chambers
PROPIEDADES FISICO-QUIMICAS
PROPRIETE PHYSICOCHIMIQUE
RAMAS
SALIX ALBA
Stems
TALLO
TENSION DE ABSORCION
TIGE
Water pressure
XILEMA
Xylem
XYLEME
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Summary:Loss of hydraulic conductivity occurs in stems when the water in xylem conduits is subjected to sufficiently negative pressure. According to the air-seeding hypothesis, this loss of conductivity occurs when air bubbles are sucked into water-filled conduits through micropores adjacent to air spaces in the stem. Results in this study showed that loss of hydraulic conductivity occurred in stem segments pressurized in a pressure chamber while the xylem water was under positive pressure. Vulnerability curves can be defined as a plot of percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity versus the pressure difference between xylem water and the outside air inducing the loss of conductivity. Vulnerability curves were similar whether loss of conductivity was induced by lowering the xylem water pressure or by raising the external air pressure. These results are consistent with the air-seeding hypothesis of how embolisms are nucleated, but not with the nucleation of embolisms at hydrophobic cracks because the latter requires negative xylem water pressure. The results also call into question some basic underlying assumptions used in the determination of components of tissue water potential using "pressure-volume" analysis
ISSN:0032-0889
1532-2548
DOI:10.1104/pp.100.1.205