Hydraulic Strategy of Cactus Trichome for Absorption and Storage of Water under Arid Environment

Abstract

Being an essential component in various metabolic activities, water is important for the survival of plants and animals. Cacti grown in arid areas have developed intrinsic water management systems, such as water collection through spines, water absorption through trichome, and water storage using mucilage. The water collection method of cactus is well-documented, but its water absorption and storage strategies remain to be elucidated. Thus, this study analyzed the morphology and wettability of cactus trichomes by using advanced bio-imaging techniques and by performing in vitro experiments on an artificial system mimicking these structures, respectively. In addition, the in situ water absorption process through the trichome cluster was quantitatively visualized. This paper proposes a new bio-inspired technique for dew collection based on information about the water management strategies of cactus. This study discusses the underlying water absorption and storage strategies of cactus and provides the experimental database required to develop a biomimetic water management device.

Human Resource Management Practices and Service Provider Commitment of Green Hotel Service Providers: Mediating Role of Resilience and Work Engagement

“…Our study, through these findings, makes several contributions to the area of green employees' behaviors and the green hospitality literature. Previous studies on green behavior concentrated on personal environmental attitudes and behaviors in service settings such as voluntary environmental performance at the job or business citizenship behavior for the environment [116,117]. This study focused on employees' green resilience, engagement, and environmental commitment in hotels.…”

Characterization and Bioreplication of Tradescantia pallida Inspired Biomimetic Superwettability for Dual Way Patterned Water Harvesting

“…Further, it was discovered that the trichomes also had a profound influence, more the presence of trichomes higher is the leaf drop adhesion irrespective of the type and side of the leaf indicating that the trichomes contribute in water collection. Also, trichome‐like structures have become an inspiration for efficient fog and water harvesting designs . It has been understood that the discrepancy may be due to the capillarity action along the trichomes…”

Hydraulic Strategy of Cactus Root–Stem Junction for Effective Water Transport

“…In transpiring plants, a large negative potential is generated at plant leaves by evaporative water, which continuously induces water transport from the soil to leaves (Taiz and Zeiger, 2010 ). However, cactus minimizes the leaf transpiration to prevent water loss from the stem filled with hydrated mucilage (Nobel and De la Barrera, 2002 ; Kim et al, 2017 ). Therefore, even under a harsh drought condition, the water potential in the stem nearly holds the values for wet conditions.…”

“…For instance, their needles can collect water droplets from wet air or fog (Ju et al, 2012 ). The collected water droplets are transported through trichomes on the epidermis and stored in the stem filled with mucilage (Nobel, 2003 ; Kim et al, 2017 ). During intermittent rainy days, cactus roots absorb available water quickly and store it in the stem for a long time as provision against continued drought (Lopez and Nobel, 1991 ; Huang and Nobel, 1993 ; North and Nobel, 1997 ).…”