Abstract
Stomatal pores on leaf surfaces respond to environmental and physiological signals to regulate leaf gas exchange. Mathematical models can predict stomatal conductance (g s), with one parameter (m or g l) reflecting the sensitivity of g s to the photosynthetic rate (A), atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and atmospheric humidity, and a second parameter (g 0) representing the minimum g s. Such models are solved iteratively with a photosynthesis model to form the core of many models of crop or ecosystem carbon and water fluxes. For three decades, g s models have frequently been used assuming fixed parameter values for m or g 1 and g 0 across species and major plant functional types. This study of temperate tree species reveals significant interspecific variation in stomatal function. Applying species-specific parameterizations substantially reduced error in model predictions of g s by 34 to 64% and A by 52 to 60% and resulted in significant correlation between modelled and measured values. This work challenges the long-held assumption of fixed parameter values and, in doing so, suggests an approach for reducing modelling error across a wide range of ecological and agricultural applications.
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Acknowledgements
Support for this project was provided by the Illinois Biomathematics Program via a grant from National Science Foundation (Division of Undergraduate Education, Award # 1129198) and the Energy Biosciences Institute. The authors thank G. Kling and the Energy Biosciences Institute Bioenergy Farm for access to the plant material used in this study, M. Dietze for assistance with model assembly, D. Rosenthal for technical support with photosynthetic gas exchange, E. Ainsworth for comments on the draft manuscript and M. de Kauwe for valuable reviews of the original manuscript.
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A.D.B.L. and K.J.W. designed the experiment. K.J.W., T.M.W., M.A. and D.W. collected the data. K.J.W. performed the modelling. K.J.W., T.M.W. and A.D.B.L. performed the statistical analyses. A.D.B.L. and K.J.W. wrote the paper with significant revisions from T.M.W. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Supplementary Information
Supplementary Tables 1–3; Supplementary Figures 1–10
Supplementary Data 1
In situ gas exchange data
Supplementary Data 2
Lab gas exchange data
Supplementary Data 3
In situ model fits
Supplementary Data 4
Model inputs and outputs
Supplementary Data 5
Coupled model code
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Wolz, K.J., Wertin, T.M., Abordo, M. et al. Diversity in stomatal function is integral to modelling plant carbon and water fluxes. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 1292–1298 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0238-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0238-z
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