Is Decreased Xylem Sap Surface Tension Associated With Embolism and Loss of Xylem Hydraulic Conductivity in Pathogen-Infected Norway Spruce Saplings?

ABSTRACT: Increased abiotic stress along with increasing temperatures, dry periods and forest disturbances may favor biotic stressors such as simultaneous invasion of bark beetle and ophiostomatoid fungi. It is not fully understood how tree desiccation is associated with colonization of sapwood by fungi. A decrease in xylem sap surface tension (σ_xylem) as a result of infection has been hypothesized to cause xylem embolism by lowering the threshold for air-seeding at the pits between conduits and disruptions in tree water transport. However, this hypothesis has not yet been tested. We investigated tree water relations by measuring the stem xylem hydraulic conductivity (K_stem), σ_xylem, stem relative water content (RWC_stem), and water potential (Ψ_stem

SUBMITTER: Paljakka T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7378778 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature