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The standardised Glaser method for calculation, prediction and evaluation of moisture performance is considered as rarely applicable. The present state of knowledge, analytical as well as experimental, concerning heat, air and moisture demands updating of standards. This paper presents five numerical benchmark cases for the quality assessment of simulation models for one-dimensional heat, air and moisture (HAM) transfer. In one case, the analytical solution is known and excellent agreement between several solutions from different universities and institutes is obtained. In the remaining four cases, consensus solutions have been found, with good agreement between different HAM models. The work presented here is an outcome of the EU-initiated project for standardisation of HAM calculation methods (HAMSTAD WP2).

Many landraces of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] are adapted to particular geographical and climatic conditions. Here we describe two landraces grown respectively in arid and temperate areas of Algeria and assess their physiological and molecular responses to drought stress. As expected, when deprived of water cowpea plants lose water over time with a gradual reduction in transpiration rate. The landraces differed in their relative water content (RWC) and whole plant transpiration rate. The landrace from Menia, an arid area,

Recent history has documented the premature failures of building envelopes in various regions-in North America most notably on the West Coast and the East Coast. The MEWS Consortium, a project undertaken by IRC and its partners, has addressed this issue in detail. The strategy for answering these questions was based on predicting the moisture management performance of wall systems as a function of climate, wall construction, and material properties through mathematical modeling. A key task was to determine what years to use as input for the simulations. Moisture Reference Years were selected using a Moisture Index approach developed for MEWS. This paper will develop the approach and compare it with other methods of selecting Moisture Reference Years for hygrothermal simulations.

To investigate the role of plant mitochondria in drought tolerance, the response to water deprivation was compared between Nicotiana sylvestris wild type (WT) plants and the CMSII respiratory complex I mutant, which has low-efficient respiration and photosynthesis, high levels of amino acids and pyridine nucleotides, and increased antioxidant capacity. We show that the delayed decrease in relative water content after water withholding in CMSII, as compared to WT leaves, is due to a lower stomatal conductance. The stomatal index and the abscisic acid (ABA) content were unaffected in well-watered mutant leaves, but the ABA/stomatal conductance relation was altered during drought, indicating that specific factors interact with ABA signalling. Leaf hydraulic conductance was lower in mutant leaves when compared to WT leaves and the role of oxidative aquaporin gating in attaining a maximum stomatal conductance is discussed. In addition, differences in leaf metabolic status between the mutant and the WT might contribute to the low stomatal conductance, as reported for TCA cycle-deficient plants. After withholding watering, TCA cycle derived organic acids declined more in CMSII leaves than in the WT, and ATP content decreased only in the CMSII. Moreover, in contrast to the WT, total free amino acid levels declined whilst soluble protein content increased in CMSII leaves, suggesting an accelerated amino acid remobilisation. We propose that oxidative and metabolic disturbances resulting from remodelled respiration in the absence of Complex I activity could be involved in bringing about the lower stomatal and hydraulic conductances.