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Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology >

2007 , Vol. 31 >Issue 5: 804 - 813

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17521/cjpe.2007.0102

Research Articles

PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF LONG-DISTANCE WATER TRANSPORT IN PLANTS: A REVIEW OF RECENT ISSUES

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  • 1Institute of New Forest Technology, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
    2Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China

Received date: 2006-10-20

  Accepted date: 2007-01-11

  Online published: 2007-09-30

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Abstract

Long-distance water transport in plants is an important issue in plant physiology and eco-physiology. The recent development of the Xylem Pressure Probe for direct measurement of pressure in individual xylem elements of intact, transpiring plants elicited challenges to the long-standing, widely accepted Cohesion-Tension (C-T) Theory. These challenges instigated debate in the field of plant physiology over mechanisms of long-distance water transport. The challengers and proponents of the C-T theory mutually criticized the Pressure Bomb and the Xylem Pressure Probe technology, and they debated over all three elements of C-T theory (high tension in xylem units; pressure gradients over tree height; the continuous water column in xylem vessels) by reviewing literature and providing physical bases. The debate has cooled down. As a result, the C-T theory has not been discredited while the raised questions in the debate remain mainly unanswered and call for future researches.

Key words： cohesion-tension theory; xylem pressure probe; pressure bomb; long-distance water transport; xylem cavitation

Cite this article

WAN Xian-Chong, Meng Ping . PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ECOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF LONG-DISTANCE WATER TRANSPORT IN PLANTS: A REVIEW OF RECENT ISSUES[J]. Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 2007 , 31(5) : 804 -813 . DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2007.0102

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