Trees suck. Notes on the physics of transpiration in trees
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Updated: Jun 4, 2025

Relating Stomatal Conductance to Leaf Functional Traits
Published on: October 12, 2015
Harvey R Brown1, Adrian P Sutton1
1Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter 555 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
Abstract:
The Cohesion Theory of the ascent of water in trees is a quiet triumph of modern science. Besides hydrodynamics, the physics of transpiration involves capillarity, evaporation and osmosis - phenomena which all have a history of considerable theoretical confusion. The aim of this paper is to supplement existing accounts of this physics in the plant science literature.
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