Dry and hot: the hydraulic consequences of a climate change-type drought for Amazonian trees

Fontes, Clarissa G.; Dawson, Todd E.; Jardine, Kolby; McDowell, Nate G.; Gimenez, Bruno; Anderegg, Leander; Negron-Juarez, Robinson; Higuchi, N; Fine, Paul; Araujo, Alessandro C.; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2018.0209

Dry and hot: the hydraulic consequences of a climate change-type drought for Amazonian trees

Journal Article · Thu Nov 15 04:00:00 EST 2018 · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0209· OSTI ID:1529989

Fontes, Clarissa G. ^[1]; Dawson, Todd E. ^[1]; Jardine, Kolby ^[2]; McDowell, Nate G. ^[3]; Gimenez, Bruno ^[4]; Anderegg, Leander ^[1]; Negron-Juarez, Robinson ^[2]; Higuchi, N ^[5]; Fine, Paul ^[1]; Araujo, Alessandro C. ^[6]; Chambers, Jeffrey Q. ^[2]

University of California, Berkeley
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
Ciências de Florestas Tropicais, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA)
National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA)
Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Trav. Dr. Enéas Pinheiro Brazil

How plants respond physiologically to leaf warming and low water availability may determine how they will perform under future climate change. In 2015-2016 an unprecedented drought occurred across Amazonia with record-breaking high temperatures and low soil moisture, offering a unique opportunity to evaluate the performances of Amazonian trees to a severe climatic event. We quantified the responses of leaf water potential, sap velocity, whole-tree hydraulic conductance (Kwt), turgor loss and xylem embolism, during and after the 2015-2016 El Niño for five canopy-tree species. Leaf/xylem safety margins (SM), sap velocity and Kwt showed a sharp drop during warm periods. SMs were negatively correlated with vapor pressure deficit but had no significant relationship with soil water storage. Based on our calculations of canopy stomatal and xylem resistances, the decrease in sap velocity and Kwt was due to a combination of xylem cavitation, and stomatal closure. Our results suggest extremely warm droughts greatly amplify the degree of trees’ physiological stress and can lead to mortality. Given the extreme nature of the 2015-2016 El Niño and that temperatures are predicted to increase, this work can serve as a case study of the possible impact climate warming can have on tropical trees.

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

DOE Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1529989

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-137675

Journal Information:: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, Journal Name: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences Journal Issue: 1760 Vol. 373

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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