Water relations parameters on single leaves obtained in a pressure bomb and some ecological interpretations

Abstract

The physical implications of the various parameters obtained from a pressure-bomb study are explored and related to their possible ecological significance. Our analysis suggests that the original bulk osmotic pressure, the bulk osmotic pressure at incipient plasmolysis, and cell wall elasticity are closely associated with the extent to which a leaf can osmoregulate or conserve water within a certain range of water potential change in the environment and might therefore have certain adaptive value. The pressure–volume relation could be applied to predict changes in leaf water potential at various degrees of water loss in the field. The values of these various parameters were obtained from a pressure-bomb study on single leaves from a wide variety of species. The use of data from single leaves as compared with whole shoots is discussed.