Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Hydraulic Architecture of Woody Tropical Plants

  • Chapter
Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology

Abstract

This chapter reviews how hydraulic architectures of tropical trees and lianas (woody vines) influence the flow of water from roots to leaves. The hydraulic design potentially can limit plant water relations, gas exchange, successional distribution, and even the maximum height (or length, in the case of lianas) that a species can attain. Important parameters include vulnerability to drought-induced cavitation (since embolism reduces hydraulic conductance), root pressures (since these potentially could result in re-filling of conduits following cavitation events, thereby increasing conductance), leaf specific conductivity (which, together with transpiration rates, can predict pressure gradi­ents throughout the plant), and water storage capacity (since this might determine the ability to survive water shortage). Some of the issues that are dealt with here are the impact of vessel diameter on drought- and freezing-induced embolism, the role of root pressures in the occasional removal of embolisms, and the ways in which the hydraulic architecture differs in different growth forms such as trees, shrubs, lianas, and hemiepiphytes. The ecological and physiological trade-offs of different architectures are discussed, and comparisons are made with temperate plants.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Beck, E., Scheibe, K. & Hansen, J. (1987) Mechanisms of freezing avoidance and freezing tolerance in tropical alpine plants. Plant Cold Hardiness (ed. P. H. Li) Alan R. Liss, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borghetti, M., Edwards, W. R. N., Grace, J., Jarvis, P. G. & Raschi A. (1991) The refilling of embolized xylem in Pinus sylvestris L. Plant, Cell and Environment, 14, 357–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brenan, J. P. M. (1967) Flora of Tropical East Africa. Part 2, Caesal-pinioideae. Crown Agents for Oversea Governments and Administrations, London, p 215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calkin, H. W., Gibson, A. C. & Nobel, P. S. (1986) Biophysical model of xylem conductance in tracheids of the fern Pteris vittata. Journal o f Experimental Botany, 37, 1054–1064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, S.-T. & Ewers, F. W. (1992) Xylem structure and water transport in a twiner, a scrambler, and a shrub of Lonicera (Caprifoliaceae). Trees, 6, 216–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, S.-T. & Ewers, F. W. (1993) The effect of segment length on conduc­tance measurements in Lonicera fragrantissima. Journal of Experimental Botany, 44, 175–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cochard, H. & Tyree, M. T. (1990) Xylem dysfunction in Quercus: Vessel sizes, tyloses, cavitation, and seasonal changes in embolism. Tree Physiol­ogy, 6, 393–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cochard, H., Cruiziat, P. & Tyree, M. T. (1992) Use of positive pressures to establish vulnerability curves: Further support for the air-seeding hypoth­esis and possible problems for pressure-volume analysis. Plant Physiology, 100, 205–209.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cochard, H., Ewers, F. W. & Tyree, M. T. (1994) Water relations of a tropical vinelike bamboo (Rhipidocladum racemiflorum): Root pressures, vulner­ability to cavitation, and seasonal changes in embolism. Journal of Experi­mental Botany, 45, 1085–1089.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Croat, T. B. (1978) Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crombie D. S., Hipkins, M. F. & Milburn, J. A. (1985) Gas penetration of pit membranes in the xylem of Rhododendron as the cause of acoustically detectable sap cavitation. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology, 12, 445–453.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, M. A., Butt, J. A., Murr, D. P. & Tsujtta, M. J. (1988) Water relations of cut greenhouse roses: The relationship between stem water potential hydraulic conductance and cavitation. Scientific Horticulture, 63, 109–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, W. R. N., Jarvis, P. G., Grace, J. & Moncrieff, J. B. (1994) Reversing cavitation in tracheids of Pinus sylvestris L. under negative water potentials. Plant, Cell and Environment, 17, 389–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, F. W. (1985) Xylem structure and water conduction in conifer trees, dicot trees, and lianas. International Association of Wood Anatomists Bull­etin, 6, 309–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, F. W. & Cruiziat, P. (1990) Measuring water transport and storage. Techniques and Approaches in Forest Tree Ecophysiology (eds. J. P. Lassoie & T. M. Hinckley) CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 91–115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, F. W. & Fisher, J. B. (1991) Why vines have narrow stems: Histologi­cal trends in Bauhinia (Fabaceae). Oecologia, 88, 233–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, F. W., Cochard, H. & Tyree, M. T. (submitted) A survey of root pressures in vines of a tropical lowland forest. Oecologia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, F. W., Fisher, J. B. & Chiu, S. -T. (1989) Water transport in the liana Bauhinia fassoglensis (Fabaceae). Plant Physiology, 91, 1625–1631.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ewers, F. W., Fisher, J. B. & Fichtner, K. (1991) Water flux and xylem structure in vines. The Biology of Vines (eds. F. E. Putz and H. A. Mooney) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 127–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fichtner, K. & Schulze, E. D. (1990) Xylem flow in tropical vines as meas­ured by a steady state heating method. Oecologia, 82, 355–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gartner, E. L. (1991) Stem hydraulic properties of vines vs. shrubs of west­ern poison oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum. Oecologia, 87, 180–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gartner, B. L., Bullock, S. H., Mooney, H. A., Brown, V. B. & Whitebeck, J. L. (1990) Water transport properties of vine and tree stems in a tropical deciduous forest. American Journal of Botany, 77, 742–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasson, P. & Dobbins, D. R. (1991) Wood anatomy of the Bignoniaceae, with a comparison of trees and lianas. International Association of Wood Anat­omists Bulletin, 12, 389–417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gentry, A. H. (1991) The distribution and evolution of climbing plants. The Biology of Vines (eds. F. E. Putz & H. A. Mooney) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 3–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammel, T. D. (1967) Freezing of xylem sap without cavitation. Plant Physi­ology 42, 55–66.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave, K. R., Kolb, K. J., Ewers, F. W. & Davis, S. D. (1994) Conduit diameter and drought-induced embolism in Salvia mellifera (Labiatae). New Phytologist, 126, 695–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jarbeau, J., Ewers, F. W. & Davis, S. D. (1994) The mechanism of xylem dysfunction in two chaparral shrubs. Plant, Cell and Environment, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krog, J. O., Zachariassen, K. E., Larsen, B. & Smidsrod D. (1979) Thermal buffering in Afro-alpine plants due to nucleating agent-induced water freezing. Nature, 282, 300–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Langan, S. J. & Davis, S. D. (1994) Xylem dysfunction caused by freezing and water stress in two species of co-occurring chaparral shrubs. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, A. M., Harnden, V. D. & Tyree, M. T. (1995). Collapse of water-stress emboli in the tracheids of Thuja occidentalis L. Plant Physiology, in press

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo Gullo, M. A. & Salleo, S. (1991) Three different methods for measuring xylem cavitation and embolism: A comparison. Annals of Botany, 67, 417–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Machado, J.-L. & Turee, M. T. (1994) Patterns of hydraulic architecture and water relations of two tropical canopy trees with contrasting leaf phenolo­gies: Ochroma pyramidale and Pseudobombax septenatum. Tree Physiol­ogy, 14, 219–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meinzer, F. C, Goldstein, G., Neufeld, H. S., Grantz, D. A. & Crisosto, G. M. (1992) Hydraulic architecture of sugarcane in relation to patterns of water use during plant development. Plant Cell and Environment. 15, 471–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooney, H. A. & Gartner B. L. (1991) Reserve economy of vines. The Biology of Vines (eds. F. E. Putz & H. A. Mooney) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 166–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patño, S., Tyree, M. T., & Herre, E. A. (1995) Comparison of hydraulic architecture of woody plants of differing phylogony and growth form with special reference to free-standing and hemiepiphytic Ficus species from Panama. New Phytologist, 129, 125–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickard, W. F. (1989) How might a tracheary element which is embolized by day be healed by night? Journal of Theoretical Biology, 141, 259–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz, F. E. (1983) Liana biomass and leaf area of a “tierra firme” forest in the Rio Negro Basin, Venezuela. Biotropica, 15, 185–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putz, F. W. & Mooney, H. A. (1991) The Biology of Vines. Cambridge Uni­versity Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salleo, S. & Lo Gullo, M. A. (1986) Xylem cavitation in nodes and inter-nodes of whole Chorisia insignis H. B. and K. plants subjected to water stress: Relations between xylem conduit size and cavitation. Annals of Botany, 58, 431–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salleo, S. & Lo Gullo, M. A. (1989) Xylem cavitation in nodes and inter-nodes of Vitis vinifera L. plants subjected to water stress. Limits of resto­ration of water conduction in cavitated xylem conduits. Structural and Functional Responses to Environmental Stresses (eds. K. H. Keeb, H. Richter & T. M. Hinckley) SFB Academic Publishing, The Hague, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, J. S. & Sullivan, J. E. M. (1992) Xylem embolism in response to freeze-thaw cycles and water stress in ring-porous, diffuse-porous, and conifer species. Plant Physiology, 100, 603–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, J. S. & Tyree, M. T. (1988) Mechanism of water stress-induced xylem embolism. Plant Physiology, 88, 581–587.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, J. S. & Tyree, M. T. (1990) Waterstress-induced xylem embolism in three species of conifers. Plant, Cell and Environment, 13, 427–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, J. S., Donnelly, J. R. & Tyree, M. T. (1987) A method for measuring hydraulic conductivity and embolism in xylem. Plant, Cell and Environ­ment, 11, 35–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperry, J. S., Holbrook, N. M., Zimmermann, M. H. & Tyree, M. T. (1987) Spring filling of xylem vessels in wild grapevine. Plant Physiology, 83, 414–417.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sucoff, E. (1969) Freezing of conifer xylem sap and the cohesion-tension theory. Physiologia Plantarum, 22, 424–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teramura, A. H., Gold, W. G. & Forseth, I. N. (1991) Physiological ecology of mesic, temperate woody vines. The Biology of Vines (eds. F. E. Putz & H. A. Mooney) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T. & Dixon, M. A. (1986) Water stress-induced cavitation and embolism in some woody plants. Physiologia Plantarum, 66, 397–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T. and Ewers, F. W. (1991) The hydraulic architecture of trees and other woody plants. New Phytologist, 119, 345–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T., Davis, S. D., & Cochard, H. (1995). Biophysical perspectives of xylem evolution: Is there a trade-off of hydraulic efficiency for vulnerability to dysfunction? IAWA Journal, 15, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T. & Sperry, J. S. (1989) The vulnerability of xylem to cavitation and embolism. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, 40, 19–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T. & Yang, S. (1990) Water-storage capacity of Thuja, Tsuga, and Acer stems measured by dehydration isotherms: Contributions of capillary water and cavitation. Planta, 182, 420–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T. & Yang, S. (1992) Hydraulic conductivity recovery versus water pressure in xylem of Acer saccharum. Plant Physiology, 100, 669–676.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T., Patino, S., Bennink, J., & Alexander, J. (1995). Dynamic measurements of root hydraulic conductance using a high-pressure flow­meter for use in the laboratory and field. Journal of Experimental Botany, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T., Snyderman, D. A., Wilmot, T. R., Machado J.-L. (1991) Water relations and hydraulic architecture of a tropical tree (Schefflera mo-rototoni): Data, models, and a comparison with two temperate species (Acer saccharum and Thuja occidentalis). Plant Physiology, 96, 1105–1113.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tyree, M. T., Yang, S., Cruiziat, P., & Sinclair, B. (1994) Novel methods of measuring hydraulic conductivity of tree root systems and interpretation using AMAIZED: A maize-root dynamic model for water and solute trans­port. Plant Physiology, 104, 189–199.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S. & Tyree, M. T. (1992) A theoretical model of hydraulic conductivity recovery from embolism with comparison to experimental data on Acer saccharum. Plant, Cell and Environment, 15, 633–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S. & Tyree, M. T. (1994) Hydraulic architecture of Acer saccharum and A. rubrum: Comparison of branches to whole trees and the contribution of leaves to hydraulic resistance. Journal of Experimental Botany, 45, 179–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann, M. T. (1983) Xylem Structure and the Ascent of Sap. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zotz, G., Tyree, M. T. & Cochard, H. (1994) Hydraulic architecture, water relations and vulnerability to cavitation of Clusia uvitana: A C3-CAM tropi­cal hemiepiphyte. New Phytologist, 127, 287–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Melvin T. Tyree
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frank W. Ewers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Stephen S. Mulkey

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Robin L. Chazdon

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1996 Chapman & Hall

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Tyree, M.T., Ewers, F.W. (1996). Hydraulic Architecture of Woody Tropical Plants. In: Mulkey, S.S., Chazdon, R.L., Smith, A.P. (eds) Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1163-8_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-1163-8_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-8493-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-1163-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation