The effect of wind and shaking on the water relations of Pinus contorta

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Abstract
It is usually suggested that the effects of wind on plant growth and development are caused by water stress. The purpose of the work reported in this paper is to examine this suggestion by a series of experiments in a controlled environment wind tunnel. Cuticular conductance of Pinus contorta subjected to low and high wind‐speeds were determined by weighing detached needles on a microbalance. Although the needles collided with each other at the high wind‐speed, there was no effect on cuticular conductance, unlike results obtained elsewhere with broader‐leaved plants. The transpiration rates and needle conductances of whole plants were unaffected by exposure to wind or a gentle shaking treatment. Water potentials and pressure‐volume curves were determined on individual needles of Pinus contorta. Wind and shaking had no effect on total, solute, or pressure potentials, or in any of the parameters describing the pressure‐volume curves. It is concluded that the effects of these treatments on growth of Pinus contorta, reported in previous papers, are unlikely to be caused by tissue water stress.

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