Multidecadal records of intrinsic water-use efficiency in the desert shrub <i>Encelia farinosa</i> reveal strong responses to climate change
Avery W. Driscoll, Nicholas Q. Bitter, Darren R. Sandquist, James R. Ehleringer
Abstract
Significance As the proportion of land area covered by arid land vegetation continues to expand and water limitations for plants increase, understanding if and how desert shrubs are responding to environmental change has become more urgent. Among two populations of Mojave Desert shrubs, we found that intrinsic water-use efficiency has increased substantially over the last three decades in response to increasing aridity and CO 2 concentration. While increases in intrinsic water-use efficiency have been widely assumed to mitigate negative effects of decreasing water availability, precise effects on plant productivity, reproduction, and survival remain unknown.
Topics & Concepts
Climate changeEnvironmental sciencePopulationWater-use efficiencyStomatal conductanceShrubDeciduousVapour Pressure DeficitEcologyAtmospheric sciencesTranspirationBiologyBotanyDemographyPhotosynthesisGeologyIrrigationSociologyPlant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsTree-ring climate responsesEcology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies