Abstract

FAUSTINO, Laura I; GRACIANO, Corina; GORTARI, Fermín  and  GUIAMET, Juan J. How do nutrients affect water use in woody plants?. Ecol. austral [online]. 2011, vol.21, n.3, pp.233-250. ISSN 1667-782X.

In this review, we analyze the information available about the mechanisms by which nutrients can alter plant water use. Water consumption (e.g., total consumption per plant, transpiration rate, water use efficiency), water relations (e.g., osmotic adjustment, changes in water potential, modifications in stomatal control) or hydraulic properties of plants (e.g., root or stem hydraulic conductivity) can be affected by the nutritional status of the plant. Information is analyzed at different levels: subcellular, organ, plant and population. It is concluded that nutrient availability alters hydraulic achitecture at different organization levels, resulting in changes in water use at plant or population level. Possible modifications, and their interactions, make it difficult to predict the way nutrient availability can alter water use. Moreover, besides abiotic factors interactions (e.g., between water and each nutrient), genotypic differences in response capacity have to be taken into account.

Keywords : Hydraulic architecture; Transpiration; Hydraulic conductivity; Nitrogen; Phosphorus.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )