Turgor loss point and vulnerability to xylem embolism predict species-specific risk of drought-induced decline of urban trees.

ABSTRACT: Increasing frequency and severity of drought events is posing risks to trees' health, including those planted in urban settlements. Drought-induced decline of urban trees negatively affects ecosystem services of urban green spaces and implies cost for maintenance and removal of plants. We aimed at identifying physiological traits that can explain and predict the species-specific vulnerability to climate change in urban habitats. We assessed the relationships between long-term risk of decline of different tree species in a medium-sized town and their key indicators of drought stress tolerance, i.e. turgor loss point (TLP) and vulnerability to xylem embolism (P₅₀ ). Starting from 2012, the study area experienced several summer seasons with positive anomalies of temperature and neg

SUBMITTER: Petruzzellis F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10078640 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature