LAUSR

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The eco-hydrological significance of leaf wetting due to atmospheric water in arid and semiarid ecosystems is not well understood. In these environments, the inputs of precipitation or dew formation resulting in leaf wetting have positive effects on plant functioning. However, its impact on plant water relations may depend on the degree of leaf surface wettability. In this study we evaluated leaf wettability and other leaf traits and its effects on foliar water uptake and canopy interception in plant species of a Patagonian steppe. We also studied how leaf traits affecting wettability vary seasonally from growing to dry season. METHOD Contact angle of a water droplet with the leaf surface, water adhesion, droplet retention angle, stomatal density, cuticular conductance, canopy interception and maximum foliar water uptake were determined in six dominant shrub species. KEY RESULTS All species increased its wettability during the dry season and most species were considered highly wettable. The leaf surface had very high capacity to store and retain water. We found a negative correlation between foliar water uptake and leaf hydrophilia. CONCLUSIONS Despite the diversity of life forms including cushion shrubs and tall shrubs, as well as phenological variability, all species converged in similar seasonal changes in leaf traits which favor its wettability. Intercepted water by crowns and the extremely high capacity of retention of droplets on leaf surfaces can have a significant impact on eco-hydrological process in water limited ecosystems where most of the precipitation during the growing and the dry season may be dew or small rainfall events, which do not always increase soil water availability.