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Hydraulic properties of fronds from palms of varying height and habitat

  • Physiological ecology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Because palms grow in highly varying climates and reach considerable heights, they present a unique opportunity to evaluate how environment and plant size impact hydraulic function. We studied hydraulic properties of petioles from palms of varying height from three species: Iriartea deltoidea, a tropical rainforest species; Mauritia flexuosa, a tropical rainforest, swamp species; and Washingtonia robusta, a subtropical species. We measured leaf areas, petiole cross-sectional areas, specific conductivity (K S), petiole anatomical properties, vulnerability to embolism and leaf water potentials and calculated petiole Huber values and leaf-specific conductivities (K L). Leaf and petiole cross-sectional areas varied widely with height. However, hydraulic properties including Huber values, K S and K L, remained constant. The two palmate species, M. flexuosa and W. robusta, had larger Huber values than I. deltoidea, a pinnately-compound species which exhibited the highest K S. Metaxylem vessel diameters and vascular bundle densities varied with height in opposing patterns to maintain petiole conductivities. I. deltoidea and W. robusta petioles had similar P 50 values (the point at which 50% of hydraulic conductivity is lost) averaged over all crown heights, but W. robusta exhibited more negative P 50 values in taller palms. Comparison of P 50 values with transpiring midday leaf water potentials, as well as a double-dye staining experiment in a 1-m-tall palm, suggested that a fairly significant amount of embolisms were occurring and refilled on a diurnal basis. Therefore, across palms differing widely in height and growing environments, we found convergence in water transport per unit leaf area (K L) with individuals exhibiting differing strategies for achieving this.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) for logistical support and field site access as well as the labor staff at TBS for tree climbing and retrieval of palm fronds. We also thank the University of Western Sydney, David Tissue and Derek Eamus for advice and use of laboratory facilities and equipment and Missy Holbrook for advice and discussion. The field campaign in Australia was funded by an EAPSI (East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes) grant (OISE-0813242) from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) as well as a grant from the National Science Foundation (IOB #0517521) which also funded the field campaign in Ecuador.

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  1. Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Heidi J. Renninger & Nathan Phillips

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  1. Heidi J. Renninger
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Correspondence to Heidi J. Renninger.

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Communicated by Gerardo Avalos.

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Renninger, H.J., Phillips, N. Hydraulic properties of fronds from palms of varying height and habitat. Oecologia 167, 925–935 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2038-5

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