Seasonal Variations in the Toughness of Leaves: A Case Study Using Griselinia littoralis.

ABSTRACT: Potential effects of climate change include greater extremes of temperature and increased severity of storms. Many plants have evolved to resist the challenges of winter (freezing, dehydration, and wind) in a process known as cold hardening. Sensing reducing temperatures, they make structural changes at the cellular level to increase their mechanical resistance and prevent damage. Previous work on this topic, though extensive, has been conducted under laboratory conditions rather than in the field, and while many workers have observed changes to cell wall thickness and composition, which imply increased mechanical strength, few have actually measured strength or any other parameter describing structural integrity. This paper describes experiments on a model system designed to measure the s

SUBMITTER: Taylor D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11406155 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature