Long‐Term in vivo Observation of Maize Leaf Xylem Embolism, Transpiration and Photosynthesis During Drought and Recovery

Plant water transport is essential to maintain turgor, photosynthesis and growth. Water is transported in a metastable state under large negative pressures, which can result in embolism, that is, the loss of function by the replacement of liquid xylem sap with gas, as a consequence of water stress. To avoid experimental artefacts, we used an optical vulnerability system to quantify embolism occurrence across six fully expanded maize leaves to characterize the sequence of physiological responses (photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, whole-plant transpiration and leaf inter-vein distance) in relation to declining water availability and leaf embolism during severe water stress. Additionally, we characterize the recovery of leaf function in the presence of sustained embolism during a 6-day recovery period. Embolism formation occurred after other physiological processes were substantially depressed and were irreversible upon rewatering. Recovery of transpiration, net CO₂ assimilation and photosystem II efficiency were aligned with the severity of embolism, whereas these traits returned to near pre-stress levels in the absence of embolism. A better understanding of the relationships between embolism occurrence and downstream physiological processes during stress and recovery is critical for the improvement of crop productivity and resilience.