Foliar Shielding: How Non-Meteoric Water Deposition Helps Leaves Survive Drought by Reducing Incoming Energy

Abstract:

The uptake of water from the surface of the leaves, called foliar uptake, is common when rainfall is scarce and non-meteoric water (dew or fog) is the only source of water. However, many species have very water repellent leaves. Past studies have not differentiated between the uptake of water and the impact of the droplets on the energy balance of the leaf, which we call ‘foliar shielding’.

Leaves of the hydrophobic Colocasia esculenta were misted with isotopically enriched water in order to mimic non-meteoric water deposition. The leaf water potential and water isotopes were monitored for different water-stress conditions. A new protocol was developed for the fast analysis of leaf water isotopes using the Picarro induction module coupled to a laser spectrometer.

Comparing the isotopic composition of the bulk leaf water at the end of the experiment, the misted leaves exhibit a d-excess higher by c. 63‰ than the control ones (P < 0.001). Low d-excess values are commonly associated with a high transpiration rate. Linking isotopic enrichment with leaf transpiration rate, we find a c. 30% decrease in transpiration rate for the treated leaves compared to the control (P < 0.001). Water-stressed leaves that were misted regularly exhibit a c. 64% smaller decline in water potential than water-stressed leaves that did not get misted (P < 0.05).

Three possible mechanisms are proposed for the interaction of water droplets with the leaf energy and water balance. Comparing three previous foliar uptake studies to our results, we conclude that foliar shielding has a comparable yet opposite effect to foliar uptake on leaf water isotopes and that it is necessary to consider both processes when estimating foliar uptake of fog water.