International audienceno abstrac

It is commonly assumed that transpiration does not occur at night because leaf stomata are closed in the dark. We tested this assumption across a diversity of ecosystems and woody plant species by various methods to explore the circumstances when this assumption is false. Our primary goals were: (1) to evaluate the nature and magnitude of nighttime transpiration, E(n), or stomatal conductance, g(n); and (2) to seek potential generalizations about where and when it occurs. Sap-flow, porometry and stable isotope tracer measurements were made on 18 tree and eight shrub species from seven ecosystem types. Coupled with environmental data, our findings revealed that most of these species transpired at night. For some species and circumstances, nighttime leaf water loss constituted a significant fraction of total daily water use. Our evidence shows that E(n) or g(n) can occur in all but one shrub species across the systems we investigated. However, under conditions of high nighttime evaporative demand or low soil water availability, stomata were closed and E(n) or g(n) approached zero in eleven tree and seven shrub species. When soil water was available, E(n) or g(n) was measurable in these same species demonstrating plasticity for E(n) or g(n). We detected E(n) or g(n) in both trees and shrubs, and values were highest in plants from sites with higher soil water contents and in plants from ecosystems that were less prone to atmospheric or soil water deficits. Irrespective of plant or ecosystem type, many species showed E(n) or g(n) when soil water deficits were slight or non-existent, or immediately after rainfall events that followed a period of soil water deficit. The strongest relationship was between E(n) or g(n) and warm, low humidity and (or) windy (> 0.8 m s(-1)) nights when the vapor pressure deficit remained high (> 0.2 kPa in wet sites, > 0.7 kPa in dry sites). Why E(n) or g(n) occurs likely varies with species and ecosystem type; however, our data support four plausible explanations: (1) it may facilitate carbon fixation earlier in the day because stomata are already open; (2) it may enhance nutrient supply to distal parts of the crown when these nutrients are most available (in wet soils) and transport is rapid; (3) it may allow for the delivery of dissolved O(2) via the parenchyma to woody tissue sinks; or (4) it may occur simply because of leaky cuticles in older leaves or when stomata cannot close fully because of obstructions from stomatal (waxy) plugs, leaf endophytes or asymmetrical guard cells (all non-adaptive reasons). We discuss the methodological, ecophysiological, and theoretical implications of the occurrence of E(n) or g(n) for investigations at a variety of scales.

Foliar water uptake (FWU) is a common water acquisition mechanism for plants inhabiting temperate fog-affected ecosystems, but the prevalence and consequences of this process for the water and carbon balance of tropical cloud forest species are unknown. We performed a series of experiments under field and glasshouse conditions using a combination of methods (sap flow, fluorescent apoplastic tracers and stable isotopes) to trace fog water movement from foliage to belowground components of Drimys brasiliensis. In addition, we measured leaf water potential, leaf gas exchange, leaf water repellency and growth of plants under contrasting soil water availabilities and fog exposure in glasshouse experiments to evaluate FWU effects on the water and carbon balance of D. brasiliensis saplings. Fog water diffused directly through leaf cuticles and contributed up to 42% of total foliar water content. FWU caused reversals in sap flow in stems and roots of up to 26% of daily maximum transpiration. Fog water transported through the xylem reached belowground pools and enhanced leaf water potential, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and growth relative to plants sheltered from fog. Foliar uptake of fog water is an important water acquisition mechanism that can mitigate the deleterious effects of soil water deficits for D. brasiliensis.

CorrectionsPHYSIOLOGY. For the article ''Ca 2ϩ sparks operated by membrane depolarization require isoform 3 ryanodine receptor channels in skeletal muscle,''

About half of the Amazon rainforest is subject to seasonal droughts of 3 months or more. Despite this drought, several studies have shown that these forests, under a strongly seasonal climate, do not exhibit significant water stress during the dry season. In addition to deep soil water uptake, another contributing explanation for the absence of plant water stress during drought is the process of hydraulic redistribution; the nocturnal transfer of water by roots from moist to dry regions of the soil profile. Here, we present data on patterns of soil moisture and sap flow in roots of three dimorphic-rooted species in the Tapajós Forest, Amazônia, which demonstrate both upward (hydraulic lift) and downward hydraulic redistribution. We measured sap flow in lateral and tap roots of our three study species over a 2-year period using the heat ratio method, a sap-flow technique that allows bi-directional measurement of water flow. On certain nights during the dry season, reverse or acropetal flow (i.e.,in the direction of the soil) in the lateral roots and positive or basipetal sap flow (toward the plant) in the tap roots of Coussarea racemosa (caferana), Manilkara huberi (maçaranduba) and Protium robustum (breu) were observed, a pattern consistent with upward hydraulic redistribution (hydraulic lift). With the onset of heavy rains, this pattern reversed, with continuous night-time acropetal sap flow in the tap root and basipetal sap flow in lateral roots, indicating water movement from wet top soil to dry deeper soils (downward hydraulic redistribution). Both patterns were present in trees within a rainfall exclusion plot (Seca Floresta) and to a more limited extent in the control plot. Although hydraulic redistribution has traditionally been associated with arid or strongly seasonal environments, our findings now suggest that it is important in ameliorating water stress and improving rain infiltration in Amazonian rainforests. This has broad implications for understanding and modeling ecosystem process and forest function in this important biome.

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Understanding the mechanisms controlling the distribution of biomes remains a challenge. Although tropical biome distribution has traditionally been explained by climate and soil, contrasting vegetation types often occur as mosaics with sharp boundaries under very similar environmental conditions. While evidence suggests that these biomes are alternative states, empirical broad-scale support to this hypothesis is still lacking. Using community-level field data and a novel resource-niche overlap approach, we show that, for a wide range of environmental conditions, fire feedbacks maintain savannas and forests as alternative biome states in both the Neotropics and the Afrotropics. In addition, wooded grasslands and savannas occurred as alternative grassy states in the Afrotropics, depending on the relative importance of fire and herbivory feedbacks. These results are consistent with landscape scale evidence and suggest that disturbance is a general factor driving and maintaining alternative biome states and vegetation mosaics in the tropics.

Summary 1.Water is a key resource in tropical savannas. Changes in vegetation structure due to land-use change and increased fire frequency may affect the availability of water and the flux of water through these ecosystems. 2. We compared the seasonal soil moisture dynamics of two adjacent savanna ecosystems with contrasting tree densities in central Brazil. Our goal was to investigate the influence of tree density on deep water uptake, soil water dynamics and evapotranspiration. 3. Soil water was measured using a depth of 7·5 m beneath the tree-dominated cerrado denso ecosystem and to 4 m beneath the grass-dominated campo sujo ecosystem. Plantavailable water (PAW) throughout the cerrado denso soil profile ranged from 293 mm at the end of the dry season to 689 mm during the wet season. In the grass-dominated site, PAW in the profile ranged from 155 to 362 mm. 4. During the dry season, ≈ 82% of the water used in cerrado denso and 67% in campo sujo was extracted from the profile below 1 m. The tree-dominated cerrado denso used 137 mm more water than the grass-dominated campo sujo . Significant deep soil water uptake was also observed during the wet season of 1998, when rainfall was below average. 5. Evapotranspiration (ET) rates (estimated as change in soil moisture over time) were higher in cerrado denso than in campo sujo during both seasons. Estimated ET ranged from 1·4 mm day − 1 during the dry season to 5·8 mm day − 1 for the wet season in cerrado denso , and from 0·9 mm day − 1 in the dry season to 4·5 mm day − 1 in early wet season in campo sujo . The differences in PAW and ET rates between the two ecosystems are associated not only with differences in root distribution, but also with differences in tree densities and the phenology of full-leaf canopies. 6. Our results suggest that deep-rooted plants may contribute significantly to the water balance of cerrado ecosystems, and that the hydrological cycle of this biome could change as woody vegetation is replaced by exotic grasses and agricultural crops.