Weak global trade-off between frost and drought resistance in trees.

ABSTRACT: Drought and frost stresses play important roles in determining species distributions, especially at range margins. Understanding how stress resistance traits interact to determine vulnerability to climate change is critical. We developed a large global database of published and new measurements of drought resistance (xylem embolism resistance; P₅₀) and frost resistance (electrolyte leakage; LT₅₀), and investigated evolutionary trade-offs using Bayesian phylogenetic quantile regressions. Across all woody biomes, P₅₀ ranged from -1 to -19 MPa, and LT₅₀ from 0 to below -80°C with conifers generally more resistant than angiosperms. We found a weak trade-off between drought and frost resistance: Drought-resistant species tend to be less frost hardy, a

SUBMITTER: Larter M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12712442 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature