Dryland plant water use in a changing climate

The global carbon and water cycles are inextricably linked through plant stomata, as water loss is an inescapable consequence of photosynthesis. Characterizing the sensitivity of plant function to environmental drivers is urgently needed as climate warms and precipitation regimes change. Current research in water-limited ecosystems (drylands) uncovers critical insight into the mechanisms by which climate change will impact plant and ecosystem function globally. As a dryland plant ecophysiologist, I study how plant water use responds to environmental variability and its consequences for the carbon cycle. Novel methods of monitoring plant water status reveal the dynamic control creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) has over its water use, which is closely coupled with its seasonal carbohydrate economy. At the ecosystem level, plant water status improves prediction of gross primary productivity in a Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) woodland, underlining the importance of plant water status as a key constraint on the terrestrial carbon cycle. Given that access to data on plant water status is far from universal, my current projects seek to connect ground-based measurements with remote sensing proxies and build an open database of existing measurements to facilitate cross-disciplinary inquiry.

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