Plant water use under heat
Abstract
The impact of heat on plants is intrinsically tied to plant water use. Heatwaves have more than tripled, warmed by 2.3K and usually combine with drought. Under heat, stomata act at the leeway between cooling and critical water loss. Once they close, cooling ceases, leaf overheating boosts transpiration and water loss across cuticles becomes decisive. Unfortunately, permeance of cuticles rises exponentially with heat. Little is known about the structural basis of changes, whether increased cuticular transpiration is reversible and acclimation is possible. Also the tolerance to various heat doses and effect on cuticular transpiration is largely unknown. To close these knowledge gaps plants in temperate alpine vs. tropical habitats are compared, experiencing different heat doses (intensity x duration). Thereby the following questions will be addressed: What are the habitat-specific heat doses, leaf to air temperature differences and vapor pressure deficits? Does heat dose affect heat survival? Which heat dose, vapor pressure deficits and plant water potential closes stomata? How does cuticular transpiration respond to various heat doses and vapor pressure deficits? Are heat-induced changes of cuticular transpiration reversible? Does heat exposure alter cuticle structure? Does excess water loss explain heat damage? So the project explores the reversibility and acclimation potential of heat treshold of cuticular transpirationt by different approaches. To get insights into the cuticle of plants from cold vs. hot habitats RAMAN microscopy and transmission electron microscopy will be applied. Reaching from laboratory to the field and from molecules to individuals, the study promises comprehensively new insights into heat survival of plants. Results will be important to assess the future heat risk to plants in a globally warmer world.
keywords heat stress tolerance cuticle permeance heat wave drought stress heat dose
Publikationen
Project staff
Notburga Gierlinger
Assoc. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Mag. Dr. Notburga Gierlinger
burgi.gierlinger@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-80338
BOKU Project Leader
01.11.2021 - 31.10.2025
Paraskevi Charalambous
Dipl.-Ing. Paraskevi Charalambous
paraskevi.charalambous@boku.ac.at
Project Staff
01.11.2021 - 01.08.2023
Giuseppe Tiloca
Giuseppe Tiloca MSc.
giuseppe.tiloca@boku.ac.at
Project Staff
01.11.2021 - 31.10.2025