COUPLING OF TREE TRANSPIRATION TO ATMOSPHERIC-TURBULENCE

UNDERSTANDING mass and energy exchange between vegetation and the atmo sphere is essential for determining the future state of the climate sy stem(1,2) and responses of plant communities. Plant water use is at pr esent described by steady-state transport models(3,4), even though tra nsport in the boundary layer is turbulent(5,6). This is especially tru e for forests, where the canopy air space is a chaotic environment whe re large turbulent events alternate with smaller-scale mixing(3,4,7). Here we demonstrate that the turbulent nature of the atmosphere affect s plant processes. We propose that the dynamic nature of plant-atmosph ere coupling represents a previously unrecognized feedback that influe nces plant water use and transport.