Do karst woody plants control xylem tension to avoid substantial xylem cavitation in the wet season?

Background Plants have been hypothesized to maintain strong control over xylem tension by closing stomata and to operate at a water potential above or near the critical potential at which cavitation commences. An alternative hypothesis holds that cavitation temporarily relieves water stress and stomatal closure is insufficient to prevent short term “run-away” cavitation. Methods The objectives of this study were to investigate the leaf conductivity loss at noon ( Loss ) of 13 woody species differing in leaf phenology at two sites on karst topography in the wet season in southwestern China; the hydraulic architecture of woody species has rarely been reported previously. Loss was predicted from minimum field leaf water potentials ( Ψ min ) and laboratory-generated vulnerability curves. We also measured the maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II using chlorophyll a fluorescence ( F v /F m ) and other associated leaf traits. Results Loss in the field varied substantially, from 1.39% in evergreen Itea chinensis to 90.07% in deciduous Sapium sebiferum . However, the Loss did not significantly decrease the efficiency of photosystem II. The water potential at which a 50% loss in leaf conductivity occurred ( Ψ 50 ) was not correlated to Ψ min . The co-occurring evergreen and deciduous species differed significantly in some stem hydraulic and associated leaf traits. Deciduous species had higher hydraulic conductance, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, lower cavitation-resistance and minimum water potential than co-occurring evergreen species. Conclusions There was no sign that karst woody species in southwestern China could control xylem tension above the threshold to avoid substantial xylem cavitation in the wet season. There was no association between Loss and F v /F m among the studied species. This “isohydric” regulation behaviour, as well as abundant rainfall in the wet season, may explain why large variations of Loss existed across karst woody species in southwestern China.