Soil temperature and drying cycle effects on water relations of Pinus radiata

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Abstract
The influence of edaphic and atmospheric conditions on the development of plant water stress, water absorption by roots, and transpiration was studied with 2-year-old seedlings of Monterey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). The slope of the relationship of xylem pressure potential to transpirational flux density was influenced by root temperature. Increased root resistances (separated from viscosity changes of water) occurred at root temperatures of 12 to 13 °C and became more limiting for water absorption at lower temperatures. Transpirational flux density was not affected by root temperature because xylem pressure potentials were not sufficiently low to close stomata. However, at the end of 9- and 12-day drying cycles, transpiration was lower than in well watered controls as a result of stomatal closure. The relationship between xylem pressure potential and transpiration exhibited hysteresis after 9 days of drying, but hysteresis was minimal upon rewatering or in unstressed control plants.