Variations in leaf water status and drought tolerance of dominant tree species growing in multi-aged tropical forests in Thailand.

ABSTRACT: Large-scale abandoned agricultural areas in Southeast Asia resulted in patches of forests of multiple successions and characteristics, challenging the study of their responses to environmental changes, especially under climatic water stress. Here, we investigated seasonal variation in leaf water status and drought tolerance of dominant tree species in three multi-aged tropical forests, ranging from 5 to > 200 years old, with contrasting soil moisture in Thailand. Seasonal variation in leaf water status differed among the forests with trees in young and intermediate sites demonstrating larger differences between seasons than the old-growth forest. Although vulnerability to embolism curves revealed that trees in old-growth forest were potentially more sensitive to declining leaf water status

SUBMITTER: Unawong W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9044374 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature