Researchers measured how much water leaks through leaves even when plants close their pores during drought, finding that short-lived plants lose water faster than trees, and species in hot, seasonal climates are better at holding onto water.
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Annual herbaceous plants lose significantly more water through closed leaves than woody plants, making them more drought-vulnerable even after stomata shut.
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Species adapted to hotter and more seasonally dry environments showed measurably lower minimum water conductance, indicating evolutionary water-conservation.
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Minimum conductance had only a weak relationship with maximum stomatal conductance, meaning a plant's drought survival strategy is largely independent of its peak water-use efficiency.
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