Hydraulic Activation of Stomata Induced by Hygroscopic Fertilizer Salts Alters Crop Carbon–Water Exchange: Field Evidence From Cereal Crops
8 affiliations
- 1UMR ECOSYS, INRAE AgroParisTech, Université Paris‐Saclay Palaiseau France
- 2Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn Bonn Germany
- 3UMR 1069 SAS, INRAE, Institut Agro Rennes France
- 4School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science University of Technology Sydney Ultimo Australia
- 5ULiege‐Gembloux AgroBio‐Tech, Plant Sciences Axis, Crop Science Lab. Gembloux Belgium
- 6Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology, TUD Dresden University of Technology Tharandt Germany
- 7Thünen Institute of Climate‐Smart Agriculture Braunschweig Germany
- 8Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, IPSL, CEA‐CNRS‐UVSQ Université Paris‐Saclay Gif‐sur‐Yvette France
Abstract
Hydraulic activation of stomata (HAS), driven by hygroscopic salt films on leaf surfaces, can create an additional pathway for water loss beyond conventional stomatal vapour diffusion, yet this process remains largely overlooked in studies of plantatmosphere interactions. We conducted the first field-based assessment of HAS-related responses following foliar interception of hygroscopic urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizer, using eddy covariance (EC) data from five cropland sites (2005-2021). During the 10-day period following UAN application, vegetation conductance (G veg ) increased significantly across barley, winter wheat and maize, while significant increases in the marginal water cost of carbon gain (λ) and stomatal sensitivity (G 1 ) were observed in barley and winter wheat. This pattern could not be attributed to changes in canopy microclimatic conditions or short-term crop growth, and was not observed with alternative liquid mineral fertilizers. Gross primary productivity (GPP) and inferred transpiration (T) also increased following UAN application, with generally greater responses in T than in GPP in most crop-site combinations. The results suggest that UAN-induced HAS alters crop carbon-water exchange at the ecosystem scale. Neglecting HAS in current models may bias predictions of ecosystem water use in fertilized cereals, with broader implications under widespread hygroscopic aerosol deposition.
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BibTeX
@article{deng2026hydraulic,
title = {{Hydraulic Activation of Stomata Induced by Hygroscopic Fertilizer Salts Alters Crop Carbon–Water Exchange: Field Evidence From Cereal Crops}},
author = {Shuaishuai Deng and Jürgen Burkhardt and Ronny Lauerwald and Christophe Flechard and Jürgen Knauer and Carmen Kalalian and Benjamin Dumont and Matthias Mauder and Christian Brümmer and Nicolas Viovy and Benjamin Loubet},
journal = {Plant, Cell and Environment},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1111/pce.70870},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05758304v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hydraulic Activation of Stomata Induced by Hygroscopic Fertilizer Salts Alters Crop Carbon–Water Exchange: Field Evidence From Cereal Crops
AU - Shuaishuai Deng
AU - Jürgen Burkhardt
AU - Ronny Lauerwald
AU - Christophe Flechard
AU - Jürgen Knauer
AU - Carmen Kalalian
AU - Benjamin Dumont
AU - Matthias Mauder
AU - Christian Brümmer
AU - Nicolas Viovy
AU - Benjamin Loubet
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/08
JO - Plant, Cell and Environment
DO - 10.1111/pce.70870
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05758304v1
AB - Hydraulic activation of stomata (HAS), driven by hygroscopic salt films on leaf surfaces, can create an additional pathway for water loss beyond conventional stomatal vapour diffusion, yet this process remains largely overlooked in studies of plantatmosphere interactions. We conducted the first field-based assessment of HAS-related responses following foliar interception of hygroscopic urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizer, using eddy covariance (EC) data from five cropland sites (2005-2021). During the 10-day period following UAN application, vegetation conductance (G veg ) increased significantly across barley, winter wheat and maize, while significant increases in the marginal water cost of carbon gain (λ) and stomatal sensitivity (G 1 ) were observed in barley and winter wheat. This pattern could not be attributed to changes in canopy microclimatic conditions or short-term crop growth, and was not observed with alternative liquid mineral fertilizers. Gross primary productivity (GPP) and inferred transpiration (T) also increased following UAN application, with generally greater responses in T than in GPP in most crop-site combinations. The results suggest that UAN-induced HAS alters crop carbon-water exchange at the ecosystem scale. Neglecting HAS in current models may bias predictions of ecosystem water use in fertilized cereals, with broader implications under widespread hygroscopic aerosol deposition.
SN - 0140-7791
SN - 1365-3040
ER -