El objetivo de este trabajo fue comparar, con valores ya publicados y otros tomados para este fin, las características ecofisiológicas (potencial hídrico, ψ, fotosíntesis, A; conductancia estomática, gs; eficiencia instantánea de uso de agua, EUA; ganancia diaria de carbono integrada, AD; eficiencia cuántica relativa del PSII, ΦPSII ) en especies xerófitas de diferentes formas de vida y metabolismo fotosintético en cuatro localidades costeras del norte de Venezuela durante los períodos de lluvia y sequía. Los valores de ψ de todas las especies variaron en un intervalo de -0.3 a -4.8 MPa. Las mayores A (22 μmol m-2 s-1) y gs (0.4 mol m-2 s-1) fueron observadas en Calotropis procera en el período de lluvia y las menores (1 μmol m-2 s-1 de A y 0.03 mol m-2 s-1 de gs) en Cissus trifoliata en sequía. Todas las formas de vida estudiadas mostraron una alta correlación lineal entre A y gs. La fotosíntesis máxima diurna (Amax) permitió estimar la AD en muchas de las especies estudiadas. La EUA disminuyó con la sequía en las formas de vida caducifolias, mientras que permaneció constante en árboles y arbustos siempreverdes e incrementó en las hierbas. La sequía causó un descenso en ΦPSII acoplado a un incremento en el coeficiente de extinción no fotoquímico (NPQ), lo cual sugiere una regulación descendente del aparato fotoquímico. | This work compares, with values already published and others taken for this purpose, the ecophysiological characteristics (water potential, ψ, photosynthetic rate, A; stomatal conductance, gs; water use efficiency, WUE; integrated daily carbon gain, AD; and PSII relative quantum efficiency, ΦPSII) in xerophytes of different life forms and photosynthetic metabolisms in four northern coastal locations of Venezuela in the rainy and dry seasons. Water potential of all species varied between -0.3 and -4.8 MPa. The highest A (22 μmol m-2 s-1) and gs (0.4 mol m-2 s-1) were found during the rainy season in Calotropis procera while the lowest (1 μmol m-2 s-1, A and 0.03 mol m-2 s-1, gs) corresponded to Cissus trifoliata during the dry season. In all life forms A was highly correlated to gs. Daily carbon gain in most of the studied species may be estimated from maximum photosynthetic rate (Amax). In deciduous life forms, WUE was reduced with drought, whereas it did not change in evergreen trees and shrubs and decreased in herbs. Drought reduced ΦPSII while non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) increased, suggesting down-regulation of the photochemical system. | El Consejo de Desarrollo Científico de la Universidad Central de Venezuela financió esta investigación con las subvenciones CDCH PI 03-33-5383-2006 y CDCH PI 03.5733.2007/2.

Evolution of soil-water movement patterns following rare and extreme rainfall events in arid climates is not well understood, but it has significant effects on water availability for desert plants and on the hydrological cycle at small scale. Here, field data and the Hydrus-1D model were used to simulate the mechanisms of soil water and vapor transport, and the control factors associated with temporal variability in the soil water and temperature were analyzed. The results showed that thermal vapor transport with a no rainfall scenario determined daily variability in water content at the soil surface. During rainfall, isothermal liquid water fluctuated as a result of dry sandy soils and matric potential in the upper soil (0–25 cm), and thermally driven vapor played a key role in soil-water transport at 40–60 cm soil depth. After an extreme rainfall event, thermal vapor flux increased and accounted for 11.8% of total liquid and vapor fluxes in daytime with a steep temperature gradient; this was very effective in improving long-term soil-water content after the rain. The simulated results revealed that thermal water vapor greatly contributed to the soil-water balance in the vadose zone of desert soil. This study provided an alternative approach to describing soil-water movement processes in arid environments, and it increased understanding of the availability of water for a desert plant community.