The knowledge of physiological processes during both dormancy and vegetative growth is important for adaptation processes in temperate zone woody angiosperms, especially in water management by those plants. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the water content and carbohydrate metabolism during the progress of dormancy in pears, to evaluate strategies of water use in two woody species (apple and walnut), which were subjected to three di fferent levels of water deficit, and also to evaluate reliability of air injection technique to induce cavitation in three woody angiosperms. The fi rst experiment was conducted during autumn and winter of 2008 in Brazil, and it was used plants of pears cultivars Packham's Triumph and Housui. The second study was carried out during the summer season of 2009 in France, with apple and walnut trees under water stress. The third experiment was done in France in 2009, and three species of woody angiosperms with different lengths of xylem were used Betula pendula, Prunus persica and Quercus robur. From the results it was concluded that the water content in tissues might be a marker of dormancy progression for cv. Packham's Triumph. However, the data were not conclusive and clear in cv. Housui. Stomatal closure might be an important parameter for preventing xilemian cavitation in walnut and apple trees subjected to soil water deficit. Apple trees stomata grown under severe drought regime remained partially open, indicating a greater tolerance of this species to drought in comparison to walnut. Finally, the doubleended pressure sleeve technique is reliable for species with diffuse-porous xylem by using short chambers and also branches longer than the xylem vessels.
