Height does not impair the hydraulic system of the tallest tropical Dipterocarp trees
Abstract
Half of the aboveground biomass in forests is stored in a disproportionately small number of very tall trees. These giants are predicted to be more vulnerable to drought-induced damage because height impairs their hydraulic system. We evaluated whether the hydraulic system of world’s tallest tropical tree species—Southeast Asian dipterocarps—are negatively affected by their height. The more negative xylem pressures caused by tree height were fully compensated for through adjustment of vessel anatomy and leaf hydraulic traits, and the trees suffered no height-related loss in growth during a severe drought. Therefore, height does not make the hydraulic systems of the world’s tallest tropical tree species more vulnerable to drought, and the growth rates of these trees are not more negatively affected by drought than are their smaller counterparts.
Article Details
Journal Info
Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Authors (20)
Paulo Bittencourt
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
Arne Scheire
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Palasiah Jotan
Department of Forest Ecology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic.
Jehova Lourenço
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK.
Lindsay F. Banin
UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Penicuik, Midlothian, UK.
Mohd Aminur Faiz bin Suis
Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Malaysia.
David F. R. P. Burslem
Bradley Christoffersen
School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, USA.
David Coomes
Peter Groenendijk
Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Steven Jansen
Institute of Botany, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
Tommaso Jucker
School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Radim Matula
Maurizio Mencuccini
Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), Barcelona, Spain.
Rafael Oliveira
Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Roman Plichta
Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocoenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
Reuben Nilus
Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Malaysia.
Rolando Robert
Sabah Forestry Department, Forest Research Centre, Sandakan, Malaysia.
Martin Svátek
Lucy Rowland
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.