Some Physiological Processes Related to Water Use Efficiency of Higher Plants

Water use efficiency (WUE) of higher plants is of vital importance in the dry-land agricultural ecosystem in terms of the development of water-saving agriculture. Of all the approaches used to improve WUE, the intrinsic water use efficiency (WUET, the ratio of CO2 assimilation rate to transpiration rate) can be a right index, as the variation of WUET is correlated with the physiological and biochemical processes of higher plants. The measurements of leaf gas exchange and carbon isotope discrimination (D13C) are the two ways to detect the variation in WUET. This article reviewed some physiological processes related to WUET, including the relationship between CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance and WUET and water absorption. The relationship between WUE and aquaporin and the yield are discussed as well.