Diverging functional strategies but high sensitivity to an extreme drought in tropical dry forests.

ABSTRACT: Extreme drought events have negative effects on forest diversity and functioning. At the species level, however, these effects are still unclear, as species vary in their response to drought through specific functional trait combinations. We used long-term demographic records of 21,821 trees and extensive databases of traits to understand the responses of 338 tropical dry forests tree species to ENSO₂₀₁₅ , the driest event in decades in Northern South America. Functional differences between species were related to the hydraulic safety-efficiency trade-off, but unexpectedly, dominant species were characterised by high investment in leaf and wood tissues regardless of their leaf phenological habit. Despite broad functional trait combinations, tree mortality was more widespread in

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-M R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9292319 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature