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VOLUME LXVIII NUMBER 6
T H E
BOTANICAL GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1919
Introduction
Transpiration has beenofspecialinterestto manyinvestigators
fora long time. At firstit was consideredwithoutreference to
environmental factors,but later,as moreobservations weremade
and thesefactors werenotedto havea markedeffect uponthewater
loss, they were taken into consideration.Many of the data
assembledhave been limitedto plantsduringthe growingseason,
so that it has seemedprofitable to obtainnot only quantitative
dataonwinterlosses,butalsoa comparison oftherelativetranspira-
tionof conifers and broad-leavedtreesin summerand winter.
Variousmethodshave been devisedfordetermining transpira-
tion,fromthecutshootpotometer, whichusuallygiveslossesquite
too low whencomparedwithrootedplants(6, I6), to the cobalt
chloridemethodofSTAHL (i7), recently improvedby LIVINGSTON
and SHREVE (I3). With few notable exceptions,such as the
methodusedby ILJIN(II), whoworkedon xerophytes and meso-
phytesin the field,the former methodhas been used largelyfor
laboratorymeasurements, while the latter,althoughespecially
devisedforfielduse, does not takeintoaccounttheenvironmental
I Contributionfromthe Department of Botany, Universityof Nebraska, new
series,no. 29.
393
394 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [DECEMBER
or i6.58 gm. per ioo gm. of fresh weight in foliage trees, and
8.i8 gm. in conifers. He also noted that the time of minimum
transpirationagreeswith that of the minimumtemperature,which
occurred at the end of January. He states furtherthat the
differencein the amount of transpirationof differentspecies of
evergreentrees becomes smallest at the time of minimumtran-
spiration; and a change in the externalconditions,especially in
temperature,does not necessarilyproduce a correspondingchange
in transpirationin differentspecies. In average cases the amount
of water transpiredby foliage evergreentrees is one and a half or
two times greater than that transpiredby conifersif we reduce
the amount eitherto the freshweightor to the dry weight of the
transpiringpart.
VON H6HNEL (ig) estimated that a birch tree, with about
200,000 leaves and standing perfectlyfree,would evaporate 400
liters of water on a hot dry day. He also has calculated that
during the period of vegetation the beech requires 75 liters, and
the pine only 7 liters for every ioo gm. of leaf substance. The
same writergives us the followingtable on the relative amount
of water transpiredfromJune i to November 30 per ioo gm. dry
weightof leaf:
Birch . . . . 67. Oak . . . . 28.3
Lime . . . 6i .5 Red spruce . . 5.8
Beech . . . . 56.6 Whitepine . . 5.8
Maple . . . . 46.2 Silverfir . . . 4.4
Elm . . . . 40.7 Austrianpine . 3.2
formergroup were only about 25 per cent less than in the latter,
and concluded"that xerophyticleaf structureis not always incom-
patible with abundant transpiration,but sometimesexists only for
use in emergenciesto protect the plant from injurious loss of
water."
HANSON(9) has shown that the major water losses fromthe
crowns of isolated trees of Ulmus americana, Acer saccharinum,
and Fraxinus lanceolata occur fromthe peripheralbranches, and
less than one-sixth from equal areas of leaf surface on shaded
branches.
The presentinvestigationwas undertakenwitha double purpose
of obtaining data on the relative losses in summerand winterof
conifersand broad-leaves, and also to make a beginningon the
problem of winterkillingof trees and shrubs. This latter project
is not included in thispaper.
Methods
In the spring of i9i8 seedling conifers of Pinus ponderosa
Dougl. and Pinus Banksiana Lamb. were obtained fromthe forest
nurseryat Halsey, Nebraska; while those of Abies grandisLindl.,
Pinus Murrayana Balf., Picea Engelmanni (Parry) Engelm., and
Pseudotsugamucronata(Raf.) Sudw. were securedfromthe national
forestsof northernIdaho. These seedlings,varying fromtwo to
fouryears in age, were potted duringMay in 5-, 7-,and 8-inchpots
respectively,accordingto the size of the plants and the demands of
the root systems,and in soil consistingof two parts of rich garden
loam and one part of sand, thoroughlymixed and screenedthrough
a one-fourth-inch-mesh sieve. The pots were placed on the lawn
near the greenhouseuntil needed in late summer,and were thor-
oughly watered every day and sometimestwice a day duringthe
driest periods. A few trees, mostly white fir and Engelmann
spruce, died. These, with numerous weaker individuals of other
species,werediscarded,and onlythe verybest plants,whichshowed
the most flourishingconditionof growth,were used in the experi-
ments; in fact, only about half of the original stock was thus
selected and used.
Galvanized iron containerswith flatbottomsand straightwalls
were used in the transpirationwork,the size varyingaccordingto
I9191 WEAVER &- MOGENSEN-TRANSPIRATION 397
withcollarsto insuretemperature
oftreesin containers,
FIG. i.-Arrangement
withthoseofplantsgrowing
changescomparable undernaturalconditions.
DecemberI8 A.M..........
I.50C. . I .50C.
I8 P..2.0 2.0
3I -.4........... -4.0 -4.0
January I . -2.5 -2.5
2 . 0.0 0.0
3 .-.... .5 I.0
I4.............. -75 -8.o
At leasttwoorthreetimes.during thecourseoftheexperiments,
whichextendedfromSeptemberI9I7 to May i9i8, the seal was
brokenand the soil thoroughly aeratedby meansof an aspirator.
An examination ofcontainers discardedfromtimeto timebecause
of accidentsto the aerial parts of the plantsshowedthat at all
timesthesoilwas sweetand in goodcondition. Such an examina-
tionalso revealedthatthe rootsofbothdeciduousand coniferous
treeshad penetrated somewhatintothenewsoil. As pointedout
by MACDOUGAL (14), therootgrowthofbroad-leavescorresponds
to the warmperiodsduringwhichabsorptionis active,whileany
(kt3- Ocf5- -
Oct./6- t.26- tNoV9-
OU 0\, /6 . Urv. XL J"
5y.
16C
FIG. 3.-Average daily losses in grams from six 3-year-oldyellow pines from
September24 to JanuaryI; heavy line representsmean temperatureforthe several
periods.
no. I with the greatestleaf area (6.428 sq. dm.), while the lowest
losses are plotted fromdata obtained fromtree no. 2, which had
an area of only 4. I sq. dm. Comparative losses per unit area are
given elsewhere. Data from the other two pines were omitted
in this figureforthe sake of clearness. A generalrelationbetween
temperatureand transpirationwas clearly evident. The relation
to humiditywas not so apparent.
The entireperiodfromSeptember24 to October i6 is character-
ized by relativelyhigh transpirationlosses, afterwhich there is a
decided fallingoff. On October ii the stomata were found to be
closed. The midwintertranspirationlosses are exceedinglysmall.
Weighingsmade on February 7 and aftera periodofprolongedcold
402 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [DECEMBER
TABLE II
TOTAL AMOUNT (IN GM.) OF WATER TRANSPIRED BY 3-YEAR-OLD YELLOW PINES FROM
JANUARY I TO MAY 2, i9i8
TABLE III
TOTAL TRANSPIRATION LOSSES (IN GM.) OF 2-YEAR-OLD YELLOW PINES FROM
OCTOBER i8 TO MAY 2
actuallossesaregenerally
correlatedwiththeleafarea; forexample,
thegreatestlossesarefromplantno. 7 withan areaof4.47 sq. dm.,
whilethosein graphno. 2 are froma plantwithan area of only
2.I4 sq. dm. Secondly,theremay be noteda riseor fallin the
graphswhichcorresponds in generalwith temperaturechanges.
AfterOctoberI 7 therewas a gradualbutmarkedfallingoffinwater
Abiesgrandis
Two batteriesofwhitefirswereused. One consistedof eight
2-year-oldseedlingsin containers3 .5 inchesin diameterby 6.5
inchesdeep,and the otherof eight4-year-oldtreesin containers
3 .5 inchesin diameterand 9 inchesdeep.
p127- Ok1/O-
Zi/
tYO1/6-
0123. 1T6
0d23-
2
Sinceweighingsofbothsetsoffirsweretakenon thesamedays,
thegraphsin fig.6 maybe compareddirectlywiththosein fig.8.
ept28- OcA
/J- Oct23- A~oM9
to occuruntilafterthefinalweighingsonNovemberi6 wereplotted,
the irregularity shownby the
is probablydue to the individuality
severalplantsin therapidityofpermanent closureofthestomata,
and a generalslowingdownofthevitalactivitiesas thetemperature
decreased.
I919] WEAVER & MOGENSEN-TRANSPIRATION 409
Picea Engelmanni
This batteryconsistedof eight3-year-oldEngelmannspruce
seedlingsgrownin containers3.5 inchesin diameterby 6.5 inches
in depth,and in soilwithavailablemoisturerangingfromII.3 to
15 . I per cent.
Althoughthe leaves droppedoffbadly duringlate December
and in January, noneoftheplantsdied. All put fortha vigorous
growthofnewleavesduringApriland May ofthefollowing spring.
Threeofthesetrees,photographed inFebruary, areshowninfig.I I.
... . . .. . .... . . . . ... . ..
. ... .
.*
Pseudotsugamucronata
Because of highmortality
amongthe Douglas firsduringthe
reestablishmentin pots in early summer, only three 3-year-old
seedlings were available for experimental work in September.
Thesewereplacedin containers 3,. inchesin diameter
by 8 inches
4IO BOTANICAL GAZETTE [DECEMBER
Ulmus americana
Initial weighingsof a batteryof I2 white elm trees were made
on September 20. These plants were in containers 5 .5 inches in
diameter and 8.5 inches deep. A photograph taken on May i
just when the plants were leafingout is shown in fig. 13.
The leaf areas were determined,as in the case of the other
dicotyledons,by means of solio leaf prints. These were made,
of course,withoutremovingthe leaves fromthe stems. The areas
of the plants whose transpirationlosses are shown in fig. 14 were
as follows:
No. 6 . . . IO.28 Sq. dm. No.IO . . 4.I5sq.dm.
7 * 8.57 II * * * 4.52
8 . 6.56 12 . . . 5. 26
9 * 8.97
/6
elmtrees; Sep-
FIo. 14.-Averagedailylossesin gramsfromseveni-year-old
tember20 to October26, 1917.
I919] WEAVER &eMOGENSEN-TRANSPIRATION 413
TABLE VI
TOTAL LOSSES (IN GM.) FROM I 2 ELM TREES FROM OCTOBER 26 TO MAY I
Acersaccharinum
Weighings ofa batteryofI2 softmaplesweremadeon thesame
dates as thosefortheelms. The containers wereofthesamesize,
Sepft2-Sevi,24- Sep*._28- Oct5- 0cM8
5t8. O'a. co
/8. I
(solidline)and meanhumidity
FIG. I 5.-Mean temperature line)during
(broken
severalintervalsfrom 20 to October
September :26, 1917.
TABLE VII
TOTAL LOSSES (IN GM.) FROM I2 MAPLE TREES FROM NOVEMBER 2 TO MAY I
Plant
Pat November November 28-
ii January April24-
i Conditionon
2-I6*
(1 2 days) January
(34 days) April24i- May nMyi
on May
(113 days) (7 days)
* All leavesoff.
Quercus macrocarpa
A numberofbur oak seedlingsweregrownfromacornsobtained
froman Illinois nurseryin May I9I7. Seven of the lot werefinally
selected forexperimentalwork. These were repottedin containers
5 inches in diameterand 7 inches deep. They may be seen in the
foregroundin fig. I. The initial available water content of the
soil ranged from II .3 to I5.2 per cent, but the soil moisture was
reduced by evaporation from the surface of the several containers
TABLE VIII
AVERAGE DAILY LOSSES (IN GM.) OF BUR OAK SEEDLINGS FROM SEPTEMBER 24 TO
JANUARY 4
P
Plant September 24- October 3-1O October ro-r8 November I-I6* December 7-
October)( (8 days) January 4
(9d days) (7 days) (I5 days)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~(28
days)
I ........... 9. 0 7.0 2.1 0.25 1.0
2 ........... ........... . 11.0 4-9 0-55 1.3
3........ . 10.2 6.4 4-3 1.22 1.4
4 . .......... 15-5 9.9 I.I 0.26 i. 8
5........... 7.2 3.4 0.4 0.2I I.0
6. .......... 4-5 2.6 0.5 0.28 1.0
7........ 15.2 I2.9 8.o I.89 i .8
* At this time all the leaves had fallen, and the losses are not calculated on the average daily basis,
but on the total loss forthe entire period.
Relative transpirationrates
Thus far we have considered largely transpirationlosses of
differentindividuals of the batteries of the various species, with
only occasional referenceto comparativelosses of different species.
It may be well,therefore, to presentdata showingthe actual losses
of differentspecies based upon unit area. These data have been
summarizedin table IX. While the dates between readings are
not synchronousin all cases, theyare at least nearlyso, and fig.is,
TABLE IX
COMPARATIVE TRANSPIRATION LOSSES FROM UNIT AREAS OF SURFACE OF BROAD-
LEAVED AND EVERGREEN TREES
.~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
~ ......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~.........
._ _ .. ....
FIG. I78 Battery of yellow pines and mountain maples used for determining
relativesummertranspiration.
TABLE X
AVERAGE TRANSPIRATION LOSSES PER UNIT AREA FROM
SEVERAL SPECIES OF TREE SEEDLINGS
Species
No. of Averageloss
plants persq. dm.
Conclusions
A consideration of the foregoing data leads us to some con-
clusionsquite the converseof statementsgenerallycurrentin
literature.Perhapsthemostimportant
ecological-physiological of
these are the factsshownto hold underthe conditionsof these
experiments;first,that broad-leavedtrees underlate summer
conditionshave no greaterand indeedoftena smallertranspiring
power,area forarea, thanconifers;and secondly,thatthewater
lossesof coniferous treesduringthe wintermonthsare relatively
nogreaterwiththe needles intactthanarethelossesfromdeciduous
treesafterthe leaveshave fallen.
The factthatall oftheplantsconcerned, including threespecies
and about 30 individualsof broad-leavedtrees,and six species
represented by about 70 individualsofconifers, gave resultswhich
withoutexceptionpointto theseconclusions, leaves littledoubt
as to the validityof the finds. These resultswereobtainedwith
all the plantsunderuniform conditionsof soil type and texture,
soil temperature, and identicalaerial environment.The only
variablefactorwas soilmoisture, and heretherangewas no greater
forthe one groupthanforthe other. Althoughthe experiments
wereundertaken near the end of the summer,fora periodof a
fewweeks,aftertheirbeginning thedeciduoustreeswereinexcellent
growingcondition,and the comparativelosses as here recorded
occurredduringthe earlierpartof thisperiod,whenthe weather
was similarto that of midsummer as regardstemperature and
humidity.
That winterlosses fromthe same leaves that transpiredso
freelythe precedingfall and again in the following springare so
smallis certainly
testimony oftheecologicalefficiencyofconiferous
leaf structurefor reducingwater losses. Whetherthis is due
entirelyto stomatalclosure,or, as seemsmoreprobable,is con-
nectedwithchemicalchangesin cell contentsas well,remainsto
be determined.Such workas that of MIYAKE (Is) on the food
makingofconiferous leaves in winterand EHLERS (5) on tempera-
tureis rapidlythrowing lightupon the winteractiv-
considerable
itiesof coniferoustrees.
422 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [DECEMBER
LITERATURE CITED
I. BEACH, S. A., and ALLEN, F. W., Jr.,Hardinessin the apple as correlated
with structure and composition. Iowa Agric. Exp. Sta., Research Bull.
2I, p. i85. I9I5.
2. BERGEN, J. Y., Transpirationof sun leaves and shade leaves of Olea
europaea and other broad-leaved evergreens. BOT. GAZ. 38: 285-296.
I904.
3. BURGERSTEIN,A., Vber die Transpirationvon Taxus-Zweigenbei niederen
Temperaturen. Oesterr.Bot. Zeitschr.25: i875.
des bois. I:337. I764.
4. DUHAMEL, H. L., De l'exploitation
5. EHLERS, JOHN H., The temperature of leaves of Pinus in winter. Amer.
Jour. Bot. 2:32-70. I19I5.
6. FREEMAN, GEO. F., Method of determination of transpirationin plants.
BOT. GAZ. 46: ii8-I29. i908.
7. HABERLANDT, G., Physiological plant anatomy, p. I38. Trans. from 4th
German ed. by MONTAGUDRUMMOND. London. I19I4.
8. HALES, STEPHEN, Statik der Gewachse, p. 29. I748.
9. HANSON,H. C., Leaf structure as related to environment. Amer. Jour.
Bot. 4:533-560. I9I7.
IO. HARTIG, T., Vber die Bewegung des Saftes in den Holzpflanzen. Bot.
Zeit. I9:I7. i86i; and LehrbuchfurF6rsterI:252. I877.
II. ILJIN, V. S., Relation of transpiration to assimilationin steppe plants.
Jour.Ecology4:65-82. 1916.
I2. KUSANO,S., Transpirationof evergreentreesin winter. Jour. Coll. Sci.,
Imperial Univ. Tokyo I5: part 3. I9OI.
I3. LIVINGSTON,B. E., and SHREVE, EDITH B., Improvements in the method
power of plant surfacesby hygrometric
the transpiring
for determining
paper. Plant World Ig: 287-309. I9I6.
14. MACDOUGALL,W. B., The growth of forest tree roots. Amer. Jour.Bot.
3: 384-392. I9I6.
I5. MIYAKE, K., On the starch of evergreen leaves and its relation to photo-
synthesis during the winter. BOT. GAZ. 33:32I-340. 1902.
I6. MUENSCHER, to the size
W. L. C., A studyof the relationof transpiration
and number of stomata. Amer. Jour. Bot. 2:487-504. I19I5.
I7. STAHL, E., Einige Versuche uiber Transpiration und Assimilation. Bot.
Zeit. 52:II7-I46. i894.
424 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [DECEMBER