PubMed · 2026-04-18
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.
Annual herbaceous plants lose significantly more water through closed leaves than woody plants, making them more drought-vulnerable even after stomata shut.
Species adapted to hotter and more seasonally dry environments showed measurably lower minimum water conductance, indicating evolutionary water-conservation.
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.
