Researchers discover warming-induced plant responses.

• Stomatal pores on leaves help plants control water loss and carbon dioxide intake for photosynthesis and growth.
• Widening stomatal pores are a key mechanism to minimize heat damage to plants with rising temperatures.
• University of California San Diego researchers developed a method to clamp the vapor pressure difference (VPD) of leaves to fixed values under increasing temperatures.
• Carbon dioxide sensors detect rapid warming, initiating increased photosynthesis and reduced carbon dioxide intake in warming leaves.
• A second heat response pathway was found, bypassing the carbon dioxide sensor system, allowing plants to’sweat’ as a cooling mechanism under extreme heat.