In this section
@article{Lian:2026:10.1038/s41477-026-02304-w,
author = {Lian, X and JiJi, J and Fang, J and Han, J and Ryu, Y and Harrison, SP and Jeong, S and Zhang, H and Novick, K and Benson, MC and Dong, N and Green, JK and Sandoval, D and Liu, J and Keenan, TF and Gentine, P},
doi = {10.1038/s41477-026-02304-w},
journal = {Nat Plants},
title = {Leaf temperature and its departure from ambient air temperature.},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02304-w},
year = {2026}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Leaf temperature (Tl), the temperature at which leaf-air exchanges of carbon and water occur, varies with ambient air temperature (Ta), regulated by microclimate and species' energy balance traits. Ground and satellite thermal measurements of the Tl-Ta relationship are widely used to infer plants' thermoregulation capacity. On the basis of a global synthesis of observations across diverse climates and biomes, we show that reported thermoregulation patterns vary primarily along temperature gradients. Megathermy (dTl/dTa > 1) is particularly prevalent in warm tropical regions and in sun-exposed canopy-top leaves owing to ineffective dissipation of the often excessively accumulated solar radiation, while limited homeothermy (dTl/dTa < 1) and poikilothermy (dTl/dTa = 1) are reported mostly for cold ecosystems or sub-canopy leaves. Under heat-stressed conditions, some warm-adapted species can abate rapid Tl surge through active stomatal control, unless critical temperature thresholds are exceeded, above which Tl might increase non-linearly as a warning sign of damaging stress. This thermal consideration of stomatal regulation is currently missing in mechanistic models as a source of bias in estimated photosynthetic rates. We highlight the pressing need to develop new stomatal theories that tackle a triple-target optimization between carbon gain, water loss and thermal regulation.
AU - Lian,X
AU - JiJi,J
AU - Fang,J
AU - Han,J
AU - Ryu,Y
AU - Harrison,SP
AU - Jeong,S
AU - Zhang,H
AU - Novick,K
AU - Benson,MC
AU - Dong,N
AU - Green,JK
AU - Sandoval,D
AU - Liu,J
AU - Keenan,TF
AU - Gentine,P
DO - 10.1038/s41477-026-02304-w
PY - 2026///
TI - Leaf temperature and its departure from ambient air temperature.
T2 - Nat Plants
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41477-026-02304-w
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/42103907
ER -
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