title: Differential daytime and night-time stomatal behavior in plants from North American deserts.
abstract: Night-time stomatal conductance (g(night)) occurs in many ecosystems, but the g(night) response to environmental drivers is relatively unknown, especially in deserts. Here, we conducted a Bayesian analysis of stomatal conductance (g) (N=5013) from 16 species in the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, Mojave and Great Basin Deserts (North America). We partitioned daytime g (g(day)) and g(night) responses by describing g as a mixture of two extreme (dark vs high light) behaviors. Significant g(night) was observed across 15 species, and the g(night) and g(day) behavior differed according to species, functional type and desert. The transition between extreme behaviors was determined by light environment, with the transition behavior differing between functional types and deserts. Sonoran and Chihuahuan C(4) grasses were more sensitive to vapor pressure difference (D) at night and soil water potential (Ψ(soil)) during the day, Great Basin C(3) shrubs were highly sensitive to D and Ψ(soil) during the day, and Mojave C(3) shrubs were equally sensitive to D and Ψ(soil) during the day and night. Species were split between the exhibition of isohydric or anisohydric behavior during the day. Three species switched from anisohydric to isohydric behavior at night. Such behavior, combined with differential D, Ψ(soil) and light responses, suggests that different mechanisms underlie g(day) and g(night) regulation.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA.
authors.forename: Kiona
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ogle
authors.affiliation: Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, 901 83 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa Patrick
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.affiliation: International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks 99775, AK, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cable
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.|B2 Earthscience, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Greg A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Barron-Gafford
authors.affiliation: Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, Wellesley College, Wellesley 02481-8203, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Alden
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ignace
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside 92521, CA, USA.
authors.forename: G Darrel
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Jenerette
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.|B2 Earthscience, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721, AZ, USA.
authors.forename: Travis E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Huxman
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz 95064, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Loik
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Las Vegas 89154-4004, NV, USA.
authors.forename: Stanley D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock 79409-3131, TX, USA.|Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney, Richmond, NSW 2753 Australia.
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Tissue
mesh_terms: D003624:Darkness; D003889:Desert Climate; D008954:Models, Biological; D009656:North America; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000502:physiology*; D018526:Plant Transpiration / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity