Methods of Studying Plant Water Relations


Book Description

Water in cells and tissues; water content; Water exchange between plant roots and soils; Liquid water movement in plants; Water exchange between plant and atmosphere.




Principles of Soil and Plant Water Relations


Book Description

Principles of Soil and Plant Water Relations, 2e describes the principles of water relations within soils, followed by the uptake of water and its subsequent movement throughout and from the plant body. This is presented as a progressive series of physical and biological interrelations, even though each topic is treated in detail on its own. The book also describes equipment used to measure water in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. At the end of each chapter is a biography of a scientist whose principles are discussed in the chapter. In addition to new information on the concept of celestial time, this new edition also includes new chapters on methods to determine sap flow in plants dual-probe heat-pulse technique to monitor water in the root zone. - Provides the necessary understanding to address advancing problems in water availability for meeting ecological requirements at local, regional and global scales - Covers plant anatomy: an essential component to understanding soil and plant water relations




Water Relations of Plants and Soils


Book Description

Water Relations of Plants and Soils, successor to the seminal 1983 book by Paul Kramer, covers the entire field of water relations using current concepts and consistent terminology. Emphasis is on the interdependence of processes, including rate of water absorption, rate of transpiration, resistance to water flow into roots, soil factors affecting water availability. New trends in the field, such as the consideration of roots (rather than leaves) as the primary sensors of water stress, are examined in detail. Addresses the role of water in the whole range of plant activities Describes molecular mechanisms of water action in the context of whole plants Synthesizes recent scientific findings Relates current concepts to agriculture and ecology Provides a summary of methods




Photosynthesis and Production in a Changing Environment


Book Description

The majority of the world's people depend research work should be carried out at the local and regional level by locally trained on plants for their livelihood since they grow them for food, fuel, timber, fodder and people. many other uses. A good understanding Following the success of our earlier book of the practical factors which govern the (Techniques in Bioproductivity and Photo synthesis; Pergamon Press, 1985), which productivity of plants through the process of photosynthesis is therefore of paramount was translated into four major languages, importance, especially in the light of cur the editors and contributors have exten rent concern about global climate change sively revised the content and widened the and the response of both crops and natural scope of the text,· so it now bears a title ecosystems. in line with current concern over global The origins of this book lie in a series of climate change. · In particular, we have training courses sponsored by the United added chapters on remote sensing, con Nations Environment Programme (Project trolled-environment studies, chlorophyll No. FP/6108-88-0l (2855); 'Environment fluorescence, metabolite partitioning and changes and the productivity of tropical the use of mass isotopes, all of which grasslands'), with additional support from techniques are increasing in their applica many international and national agencies. tion and importance to this subject area.




Physiology of Woody Plants


Book Description

Woody plants such as trees have a significant economic and climatic influence on global economies and ecologies. This completely revised classic book is an up-to-date synthesis of the intensive research devoted to woody plants published in the second edition, with additional important aspects from the authors' previous book, Growth Control in Woody Plants. Intended primarily as a reference for researchers, the interdisciplinary nature of the book makes it useful to a broad range of scientists and researchers from agroforesters, agronomists, and arborists to plant pathologists and soil scientists. This third edition provides crutial updates to many chapters, including: responses of plants to elevated CO2; the process and regulation of cambial growth; photoinhibition and photoprotection of photosynthesis; nitrogen metabolism and internal recycling, and more. Revised chapters focus on emerging discoveries of the patterns and processes of woody plant physiology.* The only book to provide recommendations for the use of specific management practices and experimental procedures and equipment*Updated coverage of nearly all topics of interest to woody plant physiologists* Extensive revisions of chapters relating to key processes in growth, photosynthesis, and water relations* More than 500 new references * Examples of molecular-level evidence incorporated in discussion of the role of expansion proteins in plant growth; mechanism of ATP production by coupling factor in photosynthesis; the role of cellulose synthase in cell wall construction; structure-function relationships for aquaporin proteins




Plant Physiological Ecology


Book Description

Box 9E. 1 Continued FIGURE 2. The C–S–R triangle model (Grime 1979). The strategies at the three corners are C, competiti- winning species; S, stress-tolerating s- cies; R,ruderalspecies. Particular species can engage in any mixture of these three primary strategies, and the m- ture is described by their position within the triangle. comment briefly on some other dimensions that Grime’s (1977) triangle (Fig. 2) (see also Sects. 6. 1 are not yet so well understood. and 6. 3 of Chapter 7 on growth and allocation) is a two-dimensional scheme. A C—S axis (Com- tition-winning species to Stress-tolerating spe- Leaf Economics Spectrum cies) reflects adaptation to favorable vs. unfavorable sites for plant growth, and an R- Five traits that are coordinated across species are axis (Ruderal species) reflects adaptation to leaf mass per area (LMA), leaf life-span, leaf N disturbance. concentration, and potential photosynthesis and dark respiration on a mass basis. In the five-trait Trait-Dimensions space,79%ofallvariation worldwideliesalonga single main axis (Fig. 33 of Chapter 2A on photo- A recent trend in plant strategy thinking has synthesis; Wright et al. 2004). Species with low been trait-dimensions, that is, spectra of varia- LMA tend to have short leaf life-spans, high leaf tion with respect to measurable traits. Compared nutrient concentrations, and high potential rates of mass-based photosynthesis. These species with category schemes, such as Raunkiaer’s, trait occur at the ‘‘quick-return’’ end of the leaf e- dimensions have the merit of capturing cont- nomics spectrum.




Xylem Structure and the Ascent of Sap


Book Description

The first edition of this book was the first to provide an integrated description of sap ascension from an anatomical and functional point of view. The second edition opens with the three-dimensional aspects of wood anatomy. The cohesion-tension theory and new evidence are introduced in response to recent controversies over the mechanism of sap ascent in plants. The physiology, anatomy and biophysics of xylem dysfunction are discussed and new insights into hydraulic architecture are reviewed with special emphasis on physiological limits on maximum transpiration and how hydraulic architecture limits gas exchange, carbon gain and growth of plants. The text concludes with a description of xylem failure and pathology. The book highlights fascinating areas of current research with the aim to stimulate more work in the future.




Water and Life


Book Description

Presenting an analysis of the water relationships of the major groups of organisms: fungi, plants and animals, the text examines water stress at all levels of biological organization. Topics covered include: 1) organic osmotic agents: their distributions, modes of action, and mechanisms of regulation; 2) desiccation stress; mechanisms for preserving cellu lar integrity under conditions of low cellular water activity; 3) water stress and water compartmentation in plants; and 4) freezing stress: the prevention and regulation of ice formation in biological fluids, and mechanisms for overcoming the damaging effects of low temperatures on cellular integrity. Common adaptive strategies in diverse organisms are emphasized, as well as the fundamental physical-chemical properties of aqueous solutions that establish the nature of the interactions among water, low molecular weight solutes and macromolecules.




Plant Breeding for Water-Limited Environments


Book Description

This volume will be the only existing single-authored book offering a science-based breeder’s manual directed at breeding for water-limited environments. Plant breeding is characterized by the need to integrate information from diverse disciplines towards the development and delivery of a product defines as a new cultivar. Conventional breeding draws information from disciplines such as genetics, plant physiology, plant pathology, entomology, food technology and statistics. Plant breeding for water-limited environments and the development of drought resistant crop cultivars is considered as one of the more difficult areas in plant breeding while at the same time it is becoming a very pressing issue. This volume is unique and timely in that it develops realistic solutions and protocols towards the breeding of drought resistant cultivars by integrating knowledge from environmental science, plant physiology, genetics and molecular biology.




Water Relations of Plants


Book Description

Water Relations of Plants attempts to explain the importance of water through a description of the factors that control the plant water balance and how they affect the physiological processes that determine the quantity and quality of growth. Organized into 13 chapters, this book first discusses the functions and properties of water and the plant cell water relations. Subsequent chapters focus on measurement and control of soil water, as well as growth and functions of root. This book also looks into the water absorption, the ascent of sap, the transpiration, and the water stress and its effects on plant processes and growth. This book will be useful for students, teachers, and investigators in both basic and applied plant science, as well as for botanists, agronomists, foresters, horticulturists, soil scientists, and even laymen with an interest in plant water relations.