ArticleTree physiology2024
The benefits of woody plant stem photosynthesis extend to hydraulic function and drought survival in Parkinsonia florida.
Article in Tree physiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Beyond the leaves: functional role of chlorophyllous stems in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and their impact on nitrogen balance and root development.BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- Does green stem photosynthesis affect plant drought tolerance and recovery in avocado?AoB PLANTS · 2025Article
- Stem Shading Promotes Mannitol Accumulation in the Bark of Fraxinus ornus and Prevents Sucrose Transport in Roots Under Drought.Physiologia plantarumArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
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Abstract
As climate change exacerbates drought stress in many parts of the world, understanding plant physiological mechanisms for drought survival is critical to predicting ecosystem responses. Stem net photosynthesis, which is common in arid environments, may be a drought survival trait, but whether the additional carbon fixed by stems contributes to plant hydraulic function and drought survival in arid land plants is untested. We conducted a stem light-exclusion experiment on saplings of a widespread North American desert tree species, Parkinsonia florida L., and after shading acclimation, we then subjected half of the plants to a drought treatment to test the interaction between light exclusion and water limitation on growth, leaf and stem photosynthetic gas exchange, xylem embolism assessed with micro-computed tomography and gravimetric techniques, and survival. Growth, stem photosynthetic gas exchange, hydraulic function and survival all showed expected reductions in response to light exclusion. However, stem photosynthesis mitigated the drought-induced reductions in gas exchange, xylem embolism (percent loss of conductivity, PLC) and mortality. The highest mortality was in the combined light exclusion and drought treatment, and was related to stem PLC and native sapwood-specific hydraulic conductivity. This research highlights the integration of carbon economy and water transport. Our results show that additional carbon income by photosynthetic stems has an important role in the growth and survival of a widespread desert tree species during drought. This shift in function under conditions of increasing stress underscores the importance of considering stem photosynthesis for predicting drought-induced mortality not only for the additional supply of carbon, but also for its extended benefits for hydraulic function.
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