Ken Krauss
John Finnigan
Hilary Stuart-Williams
Graham D. Farquhar
Marilyn C. Ball
Jie Liang
2023
<p><span>Limitations and utility of three measures of water use characteristics were evaluated: water use efficiency (WUE), intrinsic WUE and marginal water cost of carbon gain (</span>aE/aA<span>) estimated, respectively, as ratios of assimilation (</span><i>A</i><span>) to transpiration (</span><i>E</i><span>), of </span><i>A</i><span> to stomatal conductance (</span><i>g</i><sub>s</sub><span>) and of sensitivities of </span><i>E</i><span> and </span><i>A</i><span> with variation in </span><i>g</i><sub>s</sub><span>. Only the measure aE/aA</span><span> estimates water use strategy in a way that integrates carbon gain relative to water use under varying environmental conditions across scales from leaves to communities. This insight provides updated and simplified ways of estimating aE/aA</span><span> and adds depth to understanding ways that plants balance water expenditure against carbon gain, uniquely providing a mechanistic means of predicting water use characteristics under changing environmental scenarios.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1111/nph.19308
en
Wiley
Linking water use efficiency with water use strategy from leaves to communities
article