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Large differences in leaf cuticle conductance and its temperature response among 24 tropical tree species from across a rainfall gradient.

ABSTRACT: More frequent droughts and rising temperatures pose serious threats to tropical forests. When stomata are closed under dry and hot conditions, plants lose water through leaf cuticles, but little is known about cuticle conductance (g_min ) of tropical trees, how it varies among species and environments, and how it is affected by temperature. We determined g_min in relation to temperature for 24 tropical tree species across a steep rainfall gradient in Panama, by recording leaf drying curves at different temperatures in the laboratory. In contrast with our hypotheses, g_min did not differ systematically across the rainfall gradient; species differences did not reflect phylogenetic patterns; and in most species g_min did not significantly increase between 25 and 50°C. g_min was higher in deciduous than in evergreen species, in species with leaf trichomes than in species without, in sun leaves than in shade leaves, and tended to decrease with increasing leaf mass per area across species. There was no relationship between stomatal and cuticle conductance. Large species differences in g_min and its temperature response suggest that more frequent hot droughts may lead to differential survival among tropical tree species, regardless of species' position on the rainfall gradient.

SUBMITTER: Slot M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9290923 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Large differences in leaf cuticle conductance and its temperature response among 24 tropical tree species from across a rainfall gradient.

Slot Martijn M Nardwattanawong Tantawat T Hernández Georgia G GG Bueno Amauri A Riederer Markus M Winter Klaus K

The New phytologist 20210806 4

More frequent droughts and rising temperatures pose serious threats to tropical forests. When stomata are closed under dry and hot conditions, plants lose water through leaf cuticles, but little is known about cuticle conductance (g<sub>min</sub> ) of tropical trees, how it varies among species and environments, and how it is affected by temperature. We determined g<sub>min</sub> in relation to temperature for 24 tropical tree species across a steep rainfall gradient in Panama, by recording leaf ...[more]

PMID: 34270792

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Project description:Atmospheric CO2 (ca ) rise changes the physiology and possibly growth of tropical trees, but these effects are likely modified by climate. Such ca × climate interactions importantly drive CO2 fertilization effects of tropical forests predicted by global vegetation models, but have not been tested empirically. Here we use tree-ring analyses to quantify how ca rise has shifted the sensitivity of tree stem growth to annual fluctuations in rainfall and temperature. We hypothesized that ca rise reduces drought sensitivity and increases temperature sensitivity of growth, by reducing transpiration and increasing leaf temperature. These responses were expected for cooler sites. At warmer sites, ca rise may cause leaf temperatures to frequently exceed the optimum for photosynthesis, and thus induce increased drought sensitivity and stronger negative effects of temperature. We tested these hypotheses using measurements of 5,318 annual rings from 129 trees of the widely distributed (sub-)tropical tree species, Toona ciliata. We studied growth responses during 1950-2014, a period during which ca rose by 28%. Tree-ring data were obtained from two cooler (mean annual temperature: 20.5-20.7°C) and two warmer (23.5-24.8°C) sites. We tested ca × climate interactions, using mixed-effect models of ring-width measurements. Our statistical models revealed several significant and robust ca × climate interactions. At cooler sites (and seasons), ca × climate interactions showed good agreement with hypothesized growth responses of reduced drought sensitivity and increased temperature sensitivity. At warmer sites, drought sensitivity increased with increasing ca , as predicted, and hot years caused stronger growth reduction at high ca . Overall, ca rise has significantly modified sensitivity of Toona stem growth to climatic variation, but these changes depended on mean climate. Our study suggests that effects of ca rise on tropical tree growth may be more complex and less stimulatory than commonly assumed and require a better representation in global vegetation models.

Dataset Information

Large differences in leaf cuticle conductance and its temperature response among 24 tropical tree species from across a rainfall gradient.

Publications

Large differences in leaf cuticle conductance and its temperature response among 24 tropical tree species from across a rainfall gradient.

Similar Datasets

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