Considering the stomatal transpiration from a viewpoint of hydraulics

Abstract

The phenomenon of transpiration and latent heat release in stomata of plants is important in relation to the water resources, the suppression of CO₂ increase and global warming. Hitherto, the phenomenon is treated by either the Penman-Monteith theory and stomatal conductance or the bulk formula.
In this paper, the writer proposes two theories from a standpoint of hydraulics. One is a 1D model of a hydraulic system of water-uptake from roots to stomata of leaves, considering the osmatic pressure change resulting from transpiration and photosynthesis. The other is the numerical computation of flow, heat and energy, CO₂ and vapour around leaf surface, and in stomata and leaf cells. The theoretical computation explains the micro-mechanisms of transpiration, latent heat release, CO₂ assimilation, and would further give a foundation for the conventionally used formulae.