The blind men and the elephant: the impact of context and scale in evaluating conflicts between plant hydraulic safety and efficiency
The blind men and the elephant: the impact of context and scale in evaluating conflicts between plant hydraulic safety and efficiency
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DOI：
10.1007/s00442-010-1734-x
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发表时间：
2010-10-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Johnson, Daniel M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Meinzer, Frederick C.;McCulloh, Katherine A.;Johnson, Daniel M.
鉴于木质部的安全和效率对植物的生存和健康的根本重要性，这些是水力结构最常研究的特征之一也就不足为奇了。然而，关于水力安全与效率之间冲突的性质和普遍性，仍有许多有待了解的地方。尽管在特定条件下，对水力性状的选择可能会在有机体水平上产生，但大多数水力结构的研究都局限于小于整个植物的尺度，如小直径的树枝和根。在这里，我们讨论了空间和时间背景的影响，其中水力性状研究对其在维持植物水力功能中的作用的解释。我们认为，通过采用综合的方法，考虑整个植物的水力性状的变化、水运的动态行为、完整植物的木质部张力和水运效率、调节水力安全和效率的替代机制、水力安全和安全边际的替代措施，将有助于进一步了解不同植物水力性状的生态含义。
Given the fundamental importance of xylem safety and efficiency for plant survival and fitness, it is not surprising that these are among the most commonly studied features of hydraulic architecture. However, much remains to be learned about the nature and universality of conflicts between hydraulic safety and efficiency. Although selection for suites of hydraulic traits that confer adequate plant fitness under given conditions is likely to occur at the organismal level, most studies of hydraulic architecture have been confined to scales smaller than the whole plant, such as small-diameter branches and roots. Here we discuss the impact of the spatial and temporal contexts in which hydraulic traits are studied on the interpretation of their role in maintaining plant hydraulic function. We argue that further advances in understanding the ecological implications of different suites of plant hydraulic traits will be enhanced by adopting an integrated approach that considers variation in hydraulic traits throughout the entire plant, dynamic behavior of water transport, xylem tension and water transport efficiency in intact plants, alternate mechanisms that modulate hydraulic safety and efficiency, and alternate measures of hydraulic safety and safety margins.