Leaf turgor loss point shapes local and regional distributions of evergreen but not deciduous tropical trees

Kunert, Norbert; Zailaa, Joseph; Herrmann, Valentine; Muller-Landau, Helene; Wright, S. Joseph; Pérez, Rolando; McMahon, Sean M.; Condit, Richard C.; Hubbell, Steven P.; Sack, Lawren; Davies, Stuart J.; Anderson‐Teixeira, Kristina J.

doi:10.1111/nph.17187

Cited by 43 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Interestingly, a previous study on a semi‐deciduous forest in Panama (Würth et al., 2005) did not find a clear relationship between life‐history strategy (early and mid‐successional species) and NSC storage patterns. However, the differences in life‐history strategy considered in that study were not as pronounced as between the two focal species in our study and the semi‐deciduous nature of that Panamanian site (Kunert et al., 2021) may have made any growth–storage relationship more difficult to detect.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

Variation of non‐structural carbohydrates across the fast–slow continuum in Amazon Forest canopy trees

et al. 2021

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Tropical tree species span a range of life‐history strategies within a fast–slow continuum. The position of a species within this continuum is thought to reflect a negative relationship between growth and storage, with fast‐growing species allocating more carbon to growth and slow‐growing species investing more in storage. For tropical species, the relationship between storage and life‐history strategies has been largely studied on seedlings and less so in adult trees. We evaluated how stored non‐structural carbohydrates (NSC) vary across adult trees spanning the fast–slow continuum in the Peruvian Amazon by: (a) analysing whole‐tree NSC in two species of contrasting growth and (b) investigating the relationships with key life‐history traits across a broader set of species. Our results are consistent with a growth–storage trade‐off. The analysis of whole‐tree NSC revealed that the slow‐growing Eschweilera coriacea stored about 2.7 times as much NSC as the fast‐growing Bixa arborea due to markedly higher storage in woody stems and roots. B. arborea also had higher seasonality in NSC, reflecting its strong seasonality in stem growth. Across a range of species, stem starch was negatively related to species growth rate and positively related to wood density. Given the role of NSC in mediating plants' response to stress, our results suggest that slow‐growing species with greater storage reserves may be more resilient to drought than fast‐growing species.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

Variation of non‐structural carbohydrates across the fast–slow continuum in Amazon Forest canopy trees

et al. 2021

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“…We found significant ERD–mortality relationships during extreme water stress for evergreen but not deciduous species (Figs 8, S11); consistent with the expectation that deciduous species also can avoid water stress via leaf drop. This also is consistent with the observation that species distributions along local (BCI) and regional (Panama) moisture gradients are correlated with leaf turgor loss point (

normalΨ

tlp ) for evergreen but not deciduous species (Kunert et al ., 2021). Studies that simultaneously assess coordination between leaf phenology, rooting depth and hydraulic traits are almost absent for the tropics and warrant future consideration (Oliveira et al ., 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…See Table S4 for species' complete scientific names. No claim to original US Government works New Phytologist Ó 2021 New Phytologist Foundation (Kunert et al, 2021). Studies that simultaneously assess coordination between leaf phenology, rooting depth and hydraulic traits are almost absent for the tropics and warrant future consideration (Oliveira et al, 2021).…”

Section: Drought Strategies Designed To Mitigate Realized Hydraulic Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydraulically‐vulnerable trees survive on deep‐water access during droughts in a tropical forest

Chitra‐Tarak

Aguilar

et al. 2021

New Phytologist

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Deep-water access is arguably the most effective, but under-studied mechanism that plants employ to survive during drought. Vulnerability to embolism and hydraulic safety margins can predict mortality risk at given levels of dehydration, but deep-water access may delay plant dehydration. Here, we tested the role of deep-water access in enabling survival within a diverse tropical forest community in Panama using a novel data-model approach. •We inversely estimated the effective rooting depth (ERD, as the average depth of water extraction), for 29 canopy species by linking diameter growth dynamics to vapor pressure deficit, water potentials in the whole-soil column, and leaf hydraulic vulnerability curves. We validated ERD estimates against existing isotopic data of potential water-access depths.• Across species, deeper ERD was associated with higher maximum stem hydraulic conductivity, greater vulnerability to xylem embolism, narrower safety margins, and lower mortality rates during extreme droughts over 35 years , especially in evergreen species. Species exposure to water-stress declined with deeper ERD indicating that trees compensate for waterstress related mortality risk through deep-water access.• The role of deep-water access in mitigating mortality of hydraulically vulnerable trees has important implications for our predictive understanding of forest dynamics under current and future climates.

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“…However, TLP measures the ability of leaves to maintain turgor pressure and operate under water stress, which means it is an indicator of drought tolerance. Indeed, species with more negative TLP are associated with dryer habitats (Bartlett et al, 2012; Kunert et al, 2021; Zhu et al, 2018). This apparent contradiction may result from a correlation between TLP and other key drought tolerance traits, but this trait coordination is not ubiquitous among woody species (Christoffersen et al, 2016; Laughlin et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small and slow is safe: On the drought tolerance of tropical tree species

Guillemot

Martin‐StPaul

Bulascoschi

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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Understanding how evolutionary history and the coordination between trait trade‐off axes shape the drought tolerance of trees is crucial to predict forest dynamics under climate change. Here, we compiled traits related to drought tolerance and the fast‐slow and stature‐recruitment trade‐off axes in 601 tropical woody species to explore their covariations and phylogenetic signals. We found that xylem resistance to embolism (P50) determines the risk of hydraulic failure, while the functional significance of leaf turgor loss point (TLP) relies on its coordination with water use strategies. P50 and TLP exhibit weak phylogenetic signals and substantial variation within genera. TLP is closely associated with the fast‐slow trait axis: slow species maintain leaf functioning under higher water stress. P50 is associated with both the fast‐slow and stature‐recruitment trait axes: slow and small species exhibit more resistant xylem. Lower leaf phosphorus concentration is associated with more resistant xylem, which suggests a (nutrient and drought) stress‐tolerance syndrome in the tropics. Overall, our results imply that (1) drought tolerance is under strong selective pressure in tropical forests, and TLP and P50 result from the repeated evolutionary adaptation of closely related taxa, and (2) drought tolerance is coordinated with the ecological strategies governing tropical forest demography. These findings provide a physiological basis to interpret the drought‐induced shift toward slow‐growing, smaller, denser‐wooded trees observed in the tropics, with implications for forest restoration programmes.

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Leaf turgor loss point shapes local and regional distributions of evergreen but not deciduous tropical trees

Cited by 43 publications

References 74 publications

Variation of non‐structural carbohydrates across the fast–slow continuum in Amazon Forest canopy trees

Variation of non‐structural carbohydrates across the fast–slow continuum in Amazon Forest canopy trees

Hydraulically‐vulnerable trees survive on deep‐water access during droughts in a tropical forest

Small and slow is safe: On the drought tolerance of tropical tree species

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