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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #368092
Research Project: Improving the Sustainability of Irrigated Farming Systems in Semi-Arid Regions

Location: Water Management and Systems Research

Title: Wood day capacitance is related to water content, wood density, and anatomy across 30 temperate tree species

Author
item ZIEMINSKA, KASIA - Harvard University
item ROSA, EMILY - Sonoma State University
item Gleason, Sean
item HOLBROOK, NOEL - Harvard University

Submitted to: New Phytologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/8/2020
Publication Date: 9/16/2020
Citation: Zieminska, K., Rosa, E., Gleason, S.M., Holbrook, N.M. 2020. Wood day capacitance is related to water content, wood density, and anatomy across 30 temperate tree species. New Phytologist. 43(12):3048-3067. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13891.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.13891

Interpretive Summary: The amount of water that can be stored in plant xylem (water-transporting tissue) affects the functioning and growth of species. However, it is still poorly understood where water is stored (i.e., in what tissues), how much stored water is used during typical summer conditions, as well other phsyiological traits that might be aligned with water storage. We measured water storage across 30 angiosperm trees species with the aim of answering these knowledge gaps. Our findings imply that capacitance depends on the amount of stored water, tissue connectivity and the bulk wood properties arising from wood density (WD) (e.g., elasticity), rather than the fraction of any particular tissue.

Technical Abstract: Water released from wood tissue during transpiration (capacitance) can meaningfully affect daily water use and drought response. To provide context for better understanding of capacitance mechanisms, we investigated links between capacitance and wood anatomy. On twig wood of 30 temperate angiosperm tree species, we measured capacitance, water content, wood density, and anatomical traits, i.e., vessel properties, tissue fractions, and vessel-tissue contact fractions (fraction of vessel circumference in contact with other tissues). Across all species, the strongest predictors of capacitance were wood density (WD) and predawn lumen volumetric water content (VWCL-pd, radj2 =0.44, P<0.0001). Vessel-tissue contact fractions explained an additional ~10% of the variation in capacitance. Regression models were not improved by including predawn relative water content (RWCpd) or tissue lumen fractions. Among diffuse-porous species, VWCL-pd and vessel-ray contact fraction were the best predictors of capacitance, whereas among ring/semi-ring-porous species, VWCL-pd, WD and vessel-fibre contact fraction were the best predictors. Mean RWCpd was 0.65±0.13 and uncorrelated with WD. VWCL-pd was weakly negatively correlated with WD. Our findings imply that capacitance depends on the amount of stored water, tissue connectivity and the bulk wood properties arising from WD (e.g., elasticity), rather than the fraction of any particular tissue.