Instantaneous stomatal optimization results in suboptimal carbon gain due to legacy effects

Stomatal regulation is a cornerstone process that links the exchange of carbon and water between vegetation and atmosphere, and how it is affected by plant water stress. Its significance to plant physiology and evolution is not in dispute and has motivated centuries of research (Hetherington & Woodward, 2003). Stomatal regulation has also been recognized for its key role in global environmental change, by coupling the terrestrial water, carbon and energy cycles at the ecosystem level (Gentine et al., 2019), and defining the risk of plant vulnerability to and mortality from drought (Anderegg et al., 2018; Blackman et al., 2019; Feng et al., 2019; Hochberg et al., 2018; Martin-StPaul et al., 2017).