First-year Acacia seedlings are anisohydric "water-spenders" but differ in their rates of water use.

ABSTRACT:

Premise

First-year seedlings (FYS) of tree species may be a critical demographic bottleneck in semi-arid, seasonally dry ecosystems such as savannas. Given the highly variable water availability and potentially strong FYS-grass competition for water, FYS water-use strategies may play a crucial role in FYS establishment in savannas and, ultimately, in tree-grass competition and coexistence.

Methods

We examined drought responses in FYS of two tree species that are dominant on opposite ends of an aridity gradient in Serengeti, Acacia (=Vachellia) tortilis and A. robusta. In a glasshouse experiment, gas exchange and whole-plant hydraulic conductance (K_plant ) were measured as soil water potential (Ψ_soil ) declined. Trajectory of the Ψ_leaf /Ψ

SUBMITTER: Cory ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9544296 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature