Variation in the Drought Tolerance of Tropical Understory Plant Communities across an Extreme Elevation and Precipitation Gradient.

ABSTRACT: Little is known about how differences in water availability within the "super humid" tropics can influence the physiology of understory plant species and the composition of understory plant communities. We investigated the variation in the physiological drought tolerances of hundreds of understory plants in dozens of plant communities across an extreme elevation and precipitation gradient. Specifically, we established 58 understory plots along a gradient of 400-3600 m asl elevation and 1000-6000 mm yr^-1 rainfall in and around Manu National Park in southeastern Peru. Within the plots, we sampled all understory woody plants and measured three metrics of physiological leaf drought tolerance-turgor loss point (TLP), cuticular conductance (G_min), and solute leakage (SL)-an

SUBMITTER: Bravo-Avila CH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10459884 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature