Understanding the physiological mechanisms of response that allow plants to survive under suboptimal conditions such as drought stress is of particular interest, because of global climate change that threat the suitability of most terrestrial habitats for plant growth, as well as habitat...

Context: The increase in drought intensity due to climate change will accentuate the risk of tree mortality. But very few process-based models are currently able to predict this mortality risk. Aims: We describe the operating principle of a new mechanistic model SurEau that computes the water...

Hemiparasitic weed species infects fruit crops and other economically important trees reducing their productivity and timber quality. They absorb water and minerals from the host through haustorium. Further insight into the host parasitic infection is essential for formulating effective...

* Under prolonged drought and reduced photosynthesis, plants consume stored nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs). Stored NSC depletion may impair the regulation of plant water balance, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood, and whether such mechanisms are independent of plant water...

Soil salinity is one of the main factors affecting plant growth. Dissection of plant response to salinity into physiological traits may result a simple approximation than the overall response that may influence many aspects of the plant. In the present study two factors were considered to evaluate...

Xylem vulnerability to embolism represents an important trait to determine species distribution patterns and drought resistance. However, estimating embolism resistance frequently requires time-consuming and ambiguous hydraulic lab measurements. Based on a recently developed pneumatic method, we...

Plants from arid environments display covarying traits to survive or resist drought. Plant drought resistance and ability to survive long periods of low soil water availability should involve leaf phenology coordination with leaf and stem functional traits related to water status. This study tested ...

Water availability has frequently been linked to seasonal leaf display in seasonally dry ecosystems, but there have been few ecohydrological investigations of this link. Miombo woodland is a dominant seasonally dry tropical forest ecosystem type in southern Africa; however, there are few data on...

The genus Pinus has wide geographical range and includes species that are the most economically valued among forest trees worldwide. Pine needle length varies greatly among species, but the effects of needle length on anatomy, function, and coordination and trade-offs among traits are poorly...

Irrigation management in extensive green roofs (EGRs) is crucial in Mediterranean and semi-arid climates, as it should guarantee efficient water use while ensuring plant survival and vegetation cover. However, benefits of maintaining moderately low substrate water potential (Ψ_s) have not been...