4.4. Stomatal regulation and transpiration in response to soil water
availability
The results of this study also showed that across the contrasting
systems, species with large reference stomatal conductance (Gs-ref)
possessed an efficient plant hydraulic system, and the decline in
Gs-ref was strongly related to the decline in Ktree indicative of a
hydraulic effect on stomata regulation. Thus, Ktree acted in concert
with stomata to limit water loss under conditions of low soil water
content (Cochard et al., 2002; Meinzer, 2002). This stomatal closure
would prevent Wl from declining to values that could provoke
embolism formation in stems where embolism reversal may not be
as efficient as in roots (Meinzer and McCulloh, 2013)