Abstract
Variation in solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation induces a wide-range of
plant responses from the cellular to whole-plant scale. We demonstrate
here for the first time that partial stomatal closure caused by UV
exposure significantly increases leaf temperature independently of any
increase in incident energy on the leaves. Significant leaf warming in
response to UV radiation was consistent in tomato (Solanum
lycopersicum L. ) across different experimental approaches.
Exposure to UV radiation significantly decreased stomatal conductance
and increased leaf temperature by up to 2°C in field experiments where
solar UV was attenuated using filters. Smaller but significant increases
in leaf temperature due to decreases in stomatal conductance occurred in
multi-day controlled environment (CE) growth room experiments and in
short-term (< 2 hours) irradiance response experiments, both
using fluorescent lamps to provide UV treatments. We show that leaf
warming due to partial stomatal closure is independent of any direct
warming effects of UV manipulations. We discuss the implications of
UV-induced warming both for crop production and understanding broader
plant and ecosystem responses to UV radiation.