water use efficiency
nounPronunciation: /ˈwɔtər juz ɪˈfɪʃənsi/
Also written as: WUE — Water Use Efficiency
The ratio of biomass production or photosynthetic carbon gain to water consumption by a plant.
Full Definition
Water use efficiency represents how effectively a plant converts water into biomass or captures carbon relative to the amount of water consumed through transpiration. It can be measured at various scales from instantaneous leaf-level measurements to whole-plant seasonal assessments. This parameter is crucial in abiotic stress research as it indicates a plant's ability to maintain productivity while conserving water resources. Higher water use efficiency is often associated with better drought tolerance and adaptation to water-limited environments.
Plain English
How much growth or food production a plant gets from each drop of water it uses - like measuring miles per gallon for plants.
In Editorial Context
A widely reported metric in drought stress studies that requires clear definition of measurement scale and calculation method in manuscripts to ensure reproducibility.
Etymology & History
Developed in agricultural research to optimize crop production in arid regions and later adopted in plant physiology and ecology.
Initially focused on crop yield per irrigation water but evolved to include physiological measures of instantaneous gas exchange ratios.
Usage
"The editor requested clarification on whether the reported water use efficiency values represented instantaneous leaf-level measurements or seasonal whole-plant calculations."
Usage note: Specify the temporal scale and measurement approach, as instantaneous and integrated WUE can show different patterns and have different ecological interpretations.
Context: drought stress research, crop breeding programs, climate adaptation studies
Region: international
Also known as
Contrasted with
Don't confuse with
Water uptake rate measures absolute water absorption, while WUE measures the productivity achieved per unit water consumed.