Anatomical traits explain drought response of seedlings from wet tropical forests.

ABSTRACT: Water availability regulates plant community dynamics but the drought response of seedlings remains poorly known, despite their vulnerability, especially for the Asian tropics. In particular, discerning how functional traits of seedlings mediate drought response can aid generalizable predictions of tree responses to global environmental change. We assessed interspecific variation in drought response explained by above- and below-ground seedling traits. We conducted a dry-down experiment in the greenhouse using 16 tree species from the humid forests of Western Ghats in southern India, chosen to represent differences in affinity to conditions of high and low seasonal drought (seasonality affiliation). We compared survival, growth, and photosynthetic performance under drought and well-watered

SUBMITTER: Jhaveri R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11366499 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature