The watering of tall trees - Embolization and recovery

JOURNAL OF THEORETICAL BIOLOGY

卷:369

Article

Gouin, Henri

关键词: Tree recovery;    Sap ascent;    Disjoining pressure;    Cohesion-tension theory;    High trees;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.01.009

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

We can propound a thermo-mechanical understanding of the ascent of sap to the top of tall trees thanks to a comparison between experiments associated with the cohesion-tension theory and the disjoining pressure concept for liquid thin-films. When a segment of xylem is tight-filled with crude sap, the liquid pressure can be negative although the pressure in embolized vessels remains positive. Examples are given that illustrate how embolized vessels can be refilled and why the ascent of sap is possible even in the tallest trees avoiding the problem due to cavitation. However, the maximum height of trees is limited by the stability domain of liquid thin-films. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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