Viewing leaf structure and evolution from a hydraulic perspective
Tim J. Brodribb A E , Taylor S. Feild B D and Lawren Sack CA School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.
B Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
C UCLA Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA.
D Present address: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.
E Corresponding author. Email: timothyb@utas.edu.au
This paper is part of an ongoing series: ‘The Evolution of Plant Functions’.
Functional Plant Biology 37(6) 488-498 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP10010
Submitted: 12 January 2010 Accepted: 6 March 2010 Published: 20 May 2010
Abstract
More than 40 000 km3 year–1 of water flows through the intricate hydraulic pathways inside leaves. This water not only sustains terrestrial productivity, but also constitutes nearly 70% of terrestrial evapotranspiration, thereby influencing both global and local climate (Chapin et al. 2002). Thus, the central role played by leaf vascular systems in terrestrial biology provides an important context for research into the function and evolution of water transport in leaves. Significant progress has been made recently towards understanding the linkages between anatomy and water transport efficiency in leaves, and these discoveries provide a novel perspective to view the evolution of land plants.
Additional keywords: photosynthesis, vein density, xylem.
Acknowledgements
Support from the Australian Research Council in the form of a fellowship to TJB is gratefully acknowledged. TSF was supported by US National Science Foundation grant (IOB-0714156) and LS by NSF Grant IOB-0546784.
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