Capacitance Influences on the Water Relations of Desert     Perennials
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Joann P. Roskoski', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Water is the key to the growth and survival of desert                      plants.  It can be stored in the shoots, which is especially                    apparent for succulent plants such as Agave deserti (the common                 desert agave) and Ferocactus acanthodes (a barrel cactus).                      Internal redistribution of such stored water can influence water                flow in the transpiration stream, the pathway from the soil to                  the root, stem, and leaves, and lead to non-steady state                        (transient) effects.  Such transient effects. which can be                      considered by incorporating capacitors in electrical circuit                    analogs of the transpiration stream, have received little                       attention for plants, although the non-steady state is actually                 the rule, not the exception, for plants under natural conditions.                    Succulent plants such as A. deserti and F. acanthodes employ               Crassulacean acid metabolism, where CO2 uptake occurs                           predominantly at night when temperatures are lower and hence                    water loss from the plant to the air is less.  The CO2 taken up                 at night leads to the formation of malate, with a consequent                    large increase in osmotic pressure.  This increase in osmotic                   pressure influences water movement by osmosis, a complication                   that has previously not been included in electrical circuit                     analogs for plant water relations.  A new method will be employed               that allows incorporation of this non-linear factor.  New imaging               methods developed in medical research will also be used to                      observe root location in the soil.                                                   Using an electric circuit analog, water movement and water                 potential will be simulated at various locations with computer                  programs developed to solve electrical circuits.  Each component                (such as a leaf) in the transpiration stream will be assigned a                 capacitance, which will be connected through a storage resistance               to the main axial flow of the vascular tissue.  Field                           measurements of desert succulents will also be made to interpret                further the key adaptations of desert succulents to water stress                and water use.  Synthesizing the data into a dynamic model should               enhance our quantitative understanding of the cellular properties               of plants and the importance of capacitance and osmotic pressure                in maintaining water potentials favorable for plant survival in                 the field, especially when they are exposed to natural or man-                  made changes in environmental conditions.
{'FirstName': 'Park', 'LastName': 'Nobel', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'S', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Park S Nobel', 'EmailAddress': 'psnobel@biology.ucla.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000281630', 'StartDate': '09/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of California-Los Angeles', 'CityName': 'LOS ANGELES', 'ZipCode': '900244200', 'PhoneNumber': '3107940102', 'StreetAddress': '10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'California', 'StateCode': 'CA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '36', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'CA36', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'RN64EPNH8JC6', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8802237.xml'}