The Importance of Fog for Carbon Gain, Water Balance, and Foliar Uptake in Southern Appalachian Cloud Forests

Numerous species and communities around the world are functionally linked to frequent cloud immersion including the coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest (USA), the Loma vegetation of Andean Peru, the coffee forests of Angola, and the relic spruce-fir communities of the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. In these climates cloud immersion can provide an important subsidy of moisture that can improve plant water relations as well as photosynthetic status through alleviation of high sunlight and temperature stress. However, leaf wetting events can negatively affect carbon uptake by blocking stomatal pores, inhibiting CO2 exchange. Thus, in the southern Appalachian cloud forest ecosystem, the effects of cloud immersion on whole plant physiological ecology, including carbon uptake and water balance needed to be examined.

Grantor dc:publisher

Wake Forest University

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Berry, Z. Carter

• fog

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39278

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/39278