The theory of the rise of sap in trees: some historical and conceptual remarks
TLDR
In this article, the authors deal with a number of issues, of both a historical and conceptual nature, in the orthodox Cohesion-Tension (CT) theory of the ascent of sap in trees.Abstract:
The ability of trees to suck water from roots to leaves, sometimes to heights of over a hundred meters, is remarkable given the absence of any mechanical pump. In this study I deal with a number of issues, of both a historical and conceptual nature, in the orthodox Cohesion-Tension (CT) theory of the ascent of sap in trees. The theory relies chiefly on the exceptional cohesive and adhesive properties of water, the structural properties of trees, and the role of evaporation (“transpiration”) from leaves. But it is not the whole story. Plant scientists have been aware since the inception of the theory in the late 19th century that further processes are at work in order to “prime” the trees, the main such process – growth itself – being so obvious to them that it is often omitted from the story. Other factors depend largely on the type of tree, and are not always fully understood. For physicists, in particular, it may be helpful to see the fuller picture, which is what I attempt to provide in nontechnical terms.read more
Citations
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Drought-Induced Reduction in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 2000 Through 2009
Maosheng Zhao,Steven W. Running +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest a reduction in the global NPP of 0.55 petagrams of carbon, which would not only weaken the terrestrial carbon sink, but would also intensify future competition between food demand and biofuel production.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plant xylem hydraulics: What we understand, current research, and future challenges.
TL;DR: The physics of water transport in plants and the limits of this transport system are explained, highlighting the relationships between xylem structure and function.
Journal ArticleDOI
Pragmatic hydraulic theory predicts stomatal responses to climatic water deficits.
John S. Sperry,Yujie Wang,Brett T. Wolfe,D. Scott Mackay,William R. L. Anderegg,Nate G. McDowell,William T. Pockman +6 more
TL;DR: A 'supply-demand' theory for water-limited stomatal behavior that avoids the typical scaffold of empirical response functions is evaluated and promising initial performance suggests the theory could be useful in improving ecosystem models.
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Sap flow and sugar transport in plants
Kaare H. Jensen,Kirstine Berg-Sørensen,Henrik Bruus,Noel Michele Holbrook,Johannes Liesche,Alexander Schulz,Maciej A. Zwieniecki,Tomas Bohr +7 more
TL;DR: A review of low-Reynolds-number transport processes in plants can be found in this article, where the current understanding of the mechanism and quantitative description of these flows are discussed, connecting theory and experiments as far as possible.
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Hydraulic failure and repair are not routine in trees
Hervé Cochard,Sylvain Delzon +1 more
TL;DR: Brown et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated the mechanism of sap ascent in trees and found that trees have an astonishing high resistance to cavitation events and possess remarkable repair capacities, but these questions were not answered until reliable methods for measuring cavitation were introduced a century later.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Forests and Climate Change: Forcings, Feedbacks, and the Climate Benefits of Forests
TL;DR: Interdisciplinary science that integrates knowledge of the many interacting climate services of forests with the impacts of global change is necessary to identify and understand as yet unexplored feedbacks in the Earth system and the potential of forests to mitigate climate change.
Book
Physiology of woody plants
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain how physiological processes (such as photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, carbohydrate, nitrogen and mineral relations) are involved in the growth of woody plants and how they are affected by the environment.
Book
Xylem Structure and the Ascent of Sap
TL;DR: Xylem Dysfunction: When Cohesion Breaks Down, the Cohesion-Tension Theory of Sap Ascent and other Functional Adaptations.
Book
Physicochemical and Environmental Plant Physiology
TL;DR: In the fourth edition of the book as discussed by the authors, the authors have taken into consideration extensive reviews performed by colleagues and students who have touted this book as the ultimate reference for research and learning.
Journal ArticleDOI
Drought-Induced Reduction in Global Terrestrial Net Primary Production from 2000 Through 2009
Maosheng Zhao,Steven W. Running +1 more
TL;DR: Satellite data used to estimate global terrestrial NPP over the past decade found that the earlier trend has been reversed and that NPP has been decreasing, and combined with climate change data suggests that large-scale droughts are responsible for the decline.
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