Plants have different physiological thresholds to survive drought and understanding these thresholds can help predict community structure as climate change persists ( Choat et al., 2018). We discuss these differences and trends with water availability in relation to species’ plasticity in morphology and anatomy and the ecological consequences of differences in 3-dimensional venation architecture in these two species. whipplei displays a higher water conservation strategy than Y. The differences in g s did not relate to differences in leaf water content, but rather to variation in number of veins per mm 2 in H. whipplei was highest in the south-eastern slope. brevifolia showed significantly higher g s in the alluvial fan than in the slopes, H. We found species varied in their g s: while Y. We sampled leaves from three individuals per site per species and measured in the lab relative water content at the time of g s measurements, saturated water content, cuticular conductance, leaf morphological traits (leaf area and length, leaf mass per area, % loss of thickness in the field and in dried leaves), and leaf venation. Stomatal conductance ( g s) and leaf thickness were recorded in the field at three different sites (north-western slope, south-eastern slope, and alluvial fan) in March of 2019. We investigated variation in leaf physiology, morphology and anatomy of two dominant Mojave Desert monocots, Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) and Hesperoyucca whipplei, growing along a soil water availability gradient.

Different microclimates can have significant impact on the physiology of succulents that inhabit arid environments such as the Mojave Desert (California).

Canon lide 60 mojave