Are sclerophylls and malacophylls hydraulically different?

This work tests the hypothesis that sclerophylls (i.e, hard-leaved species) would be less efficient than malacophylls (i.e. soft-leaved species) in te rms of water transport through the stem as well as within the leaf blade. M ean leaf surface area (A(L)), leaf specific mass (LSM) as well as shoot (K- WL), Stem (K-SL) and leaf(K-LL) hydraulic conductances were measured in eig ht Mediterranean evergreen sclerophylls and eight temperate deciduous malac ophylls. No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of K-LL and of the contribution of leaves to the overall shoot hydraulic resistanc e. Leaves represented in all cases 48 to 90 % of the shoot hydraulic resist ance, suggesting that the sclerophyllous habitus does not per se lead to lo w efficiency in water transport within the leaf blade. A weak negative rela tionship (r(2) = 0.252) appeared to exist between K-SL and LSM. This might provide an explanation for the lower growth rates of sclerophylls with resp ect to malacophylls.