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Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 52, No. 355, pp. 257-264, February 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press

Original Papers

Hydraulic properties of individual xylem vessels of Fraxinus americana

Maciej A. Zwieniecki1, Peter J. Melcher and N. Michele Holbrook

Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Studies of the hydraulic properties of xylem vessels have been limited to measurements of whole plant or whole stem segments. This approach allows the longitudinal transport properties of the ensemble of vessels within a stem to be determined, but provides little information on radial transport. Here the xylem of Fraxinus americana L. has been examined using a new method that allows the transport properties of individual vessels to be examined. One goal of this study was to quantify transport parameters relevant to embolism repair. The longitudinal conductivity of vessel segments open at both ends (i.e. no end walls) agreed with values predicted by the Poiseuille equation. Radial specific conductance (conductance per unit area) was approximately six orders of magnitude lower than the longitudinal conductance of the vessel segment normalized by the cross-sectional area of the vessel lumen. There was a step increase in the radial specific conductance of previously gas-filled vessels when the delivery pressure exceeded 0.4 MPa. This is consistent with the idea that positive pressure, required for embolism repair, can be compartmentalized within a vessel if the bordered pit chambers are gas-filled. The diffusion coefficient for the movement of gas from a pressurized air-filled vessel was of the same order of magnitude as that for air diffusing through water (1.95 e-9 m2 s-1). Estimates of the time needed to displace all of the gas from an air-filled vessel were in the order of 20 min, suggesting that gas removal may not be a major limitation in embolism repair.

Key words: Hydraulic conductivity, xylem vessel, Fraxinus americana L., Poiseuille equation, embolism.


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