My project focused on investigating how the stress of defoliation affects stomatal morphology and function in new-growth leaves. Defoliation involves the loss of the plant's leaves and photosynthetic capability, resulting in a depletion of carbohydrate reserves fueling reflush and cellular respiration. Reflush leaves can have largely different stomatal properties from initial growth, but the driving forces behind these differences are not well understood. I compared stomatal characteristics from two defoliation studies using a combination of complete defoliation and either 1) restricted carbohydrate reserves, or 2) different environmental temperatures. Defoliation altered stomata in both experiments, with changes being tightly linked to carbohydrate availability. Stomata following defoliation were capable of greater photosynthesis, but potentially at the expense of more water loss. Finally, the two study species had different methods of altering stomata to cope with defoliation (increased density or size), suggesting a species-dependent or developmental difference in stomatal alteration.