AUTHOR=Smith Maria S., Fridley Jason D., Yin Jingjing , Bauerle Taryn L. TITLE=Contrasting xylem vessel constraints on hydraulic conductivity between native and non-native woody understory species JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=4 YEAR=2013 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2013.00486 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2013.00486 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=

We examined the hydraulic properties of 82 native and non-native woody species common to forests of Eastern North America, including several congeneric groups, representing a range of anatomical wood types. We observed smaller conduit diameters with greater frequency in non-native species, corresponding to lower calculated potential vulnerability to cavitation index. Non-native species exhibited higher vessel-grouping in metaxylem compared with native species, however, solitary vessels were more prevalent in secondary xylem. Higher frequency of solitary vessels in secondary xylem was related to a lower potential vulnerability index. We found no relationship between anatomical characteristics of xylem, origin of species and hydraulic conductivity, indicating that non-native species did not exhibit advantageous hydraulic efficiency over native species. Our results confer anatomical advantages for non-native species under the potential for cavitation due to freezing, perhaps permitting extended growing seasons.