No abstract

Relationships between morphophysiological and phenological traits of functional groups of tree species from seasonally dry tropical environments are reasonably known. However, such information is scarce for riparian forests in semi-arid environments, especially regarding the representativeness of these groups in the community. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship of the morphofunctional characteristics of leaves and stem in the identification of functional groups and how these traits vary in these groups in a riparian forest in the Brazilian semi-arid region. Traits of leaf phenology (specific leaf area, leaf area, leaf thickness, and leaf dry matter content), wood density, and amount of saturated water in the stem and their association with soil water availability, relative air humidity, precipitation, temperature, photoperiod, and vapor pressure deficit were evaluated in 23 species. Cluster analysis showed three functional groups: deciduous low wood density species (9%), deciduous high wood density species (48%), and non-deciduous species, which included semideciduous (17%) and evergreen species (26%). Deciduousness was positively related to specific leaf area and negatively related to leaf dry matter and leaf area. Deciduous and semideciduous species (55.1% and 7.5% of the individuals in the community, respectively) showed a strong dependence on abiotic factors linked to precipitation and temperature, while the evergreen species showed a strong dependence on the vapor pressure deficit to trigger their phenophases. It was evident that the studied functional traits influenced the leaf habit, which is essential to determine the abundance of functional groups of woody species from riparian forests in the semi-arid region.