• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 30, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

The secret behind maximum plant height: water!

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 5, 2019
in Biology
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
IMAGE
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: YE Qing

Physiological coordination between plant height and xylem hydraulic traits is aligned with habitat water availability across Earth’s terrestrial biomes, according to a new study.

Ecologists from the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences, conclude that such coordination plays an important role in determining global sorting of plant species, and can be useful in predicting future species distribution under climate change scenarios.

People all know that plants grow taller in wetter places, but what factors set their maximum height? Through previous experiments on tall trees, scientists have revealed that increasing hydraulic resistance associated with increasing plant height limits the distance water can be transported through xylem to top leaves. This hydraulic resistance thus sets the maximum height of a species in a given habitat.

However, scientists didn’t understand how this physiological coordination varied across a broad range of species and environments.

Based on a huge dataset of 1,281 species from 369 sites worldwide, the researchers built multiple models linking height, hydraulic traits and water to find general rules.

They found that taller species from wet habitats exhibited greater xylem efficiency and lower hydraulic safety, wider conduits, lower conduit density, and lower sapwood density, all of which were associated with habitat water availability.

“People used to think that taller plants might transport water less efficiently because of their longer distances,” said Dr. LIU Hui, the first author of this study. “Instead, we found that taller plants had higher hydraulic conductivity across species, which was a main strategy they employ to compensate for the high evaporative demand by leaves and the increased height. It is called Darcy’s Law.”

Until now, most of the hydraulic theories such as Darcy’s Law were based on data within species, Dr. LIU said. In contrast, this study distinguished and explained different hydraulic patterns between within and across species.

“Simply put, patterns found within species are based on short-term adaptive responses and are largely shaped by physiological trade-offs or constraints, while patterns across species reflect intrinsic evolutionary differences, which may be formed over millions of years, and are mainly constrained by their environmental niches,” Dr. LIU said.

“Our findings greatly extend human knowledge about the relationship between xylem hydraulic traits and plant height from local studies to biomes across the globe,” said the corresponding author Prof. YE Qing, director of the Ecology and Environmental Sciences Center of SCBG. “We highlighted that hydraulic traits can serve as important predictors of global maximum plant height and species distribution patterns.”

###

This study, published in the journal Science Advances, is the first to test hydraulic architecture and plant height on a global scale.

It was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other funding sources.

Media Contact
YE Qing
[email protected]

Original Source

http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/201903/t20190305_206185.shtml

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav1332

Tags: Earth ScienceEcology/EnvironmentForestryPlant SciencesTemperature-Dependent Phenomena
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

PhET Interactive Simulations Honored with Meggers Project Award

October 30, 2025
How Protein Binding to Fraying DNA Unlocks the Mystery Behind a Global Illness

How Protein Binding to Fraying DNA Unlocks the Mystery Behind a Global Illness

October 30, 2025

UC Riverside Scientist Honored by American Federation for Aging Research

October 30, 2025

New Study Explores Crucial Hormone in Fertility Preservation for Women with Cancer

October 30, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    1292 shares
    Share 516 Tweet 323
  • Stinkbug Leg Organ Hosts Symbiotic Fungi That Protect Eggs from Parasitic Wasps

    312 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
  • ESMO 2025: mRNA COVID Vaccines Enhance Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

    202 shares
    Share 81 Tweet 51
  • New Study Suggests ALS and MS May Stem from Common Environmental Factor

    136 shares
    Share 54 Tweet 34

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Taurine Supplementation in Autism: A Trial Protocol

Advancing Neuronal Regeneration with Biomaterials and Stem Cells

Leg and Foot Amputations Surge 65% in Illinois Hospitals from 2016 to 2023

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 67 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.