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The degree of leaf pubescence development in the arid land shrub Encelia farinosa Gray is affected by air temperature, leaf water potential, and previous history of the apical meristem during the current growing season. Changes in leaf pubescence levels change leaf spectral characteristics and affect both leaf temperature and photosynthesis. Decreasing leaf water potentials and increasing air temperatures both independently increase pubescence development as measured by decreased leaf absorptances. During any one growing season leaf absorptance may change reversibly coincident with air temperature changes, but with respect to water stress leaf absorptance only decreases as the season progresses. The ecological significance of regulation of the leaf spectral characteristics is discussed.
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James R. Ehleringer (1982) studied this question.
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