If these trees were found in California, we might imagine data as below: From th
ID: 54350 • Letter: I
Question
If these trees were found in California, we might imagine data as below:
From these data, discuss aspects of their water stress physiology.
A) Which species is under the most stress (stress=individual based interpretation) before the rains and why?
B) Which recovers soonest, what are their relative rooting depths, etc.
C) Which do you predict will dominate the driest habitats? Explain.
Species A Species B Pre-dawn water potential Before 1st winter rains After 1st winter rains (2 wk) 6 MPa 1.5 MPa 3 MPa -2 MPa Transpiration rates Before 1st winter rains After 1st winter rains (2 wk) very low very high low moderate-highExplanation / Answer
A) The species A is under the most stress before the rains since the water potential of the species is lower
B) The species A recovers soonest, since there is a great increase in the water potential and the transpiration rates after the rain.
C) Species B will dominate the driest habitats, Since it is highly adapted for less water condition which is as the scale of transpiration rate and water potential. There is no great difference in these levels even in the absence of water. This proves that this species is highly adapted for water stress.