Plant responses to drought involve multiple interacting traits and processes, which complicates predictions about which plants will die and which will survive. Species are often characterized by species-specific strategies that enable them to cope with drought. However, great within-species variation exists due to dynamic individual-level adjustments made to maximize carbon gain and reduce water loss […]

We often use sap flux, or water transported by the xylem to estimate whole-tree water use, an important component of understanding ecosystem water use. However, not all sapwood is functionally equal and axial sap flux generally declines radially and inward from the outer cambium to the inner heartwood. This radial variation in sap flux makes […]

Recent repeated episodes of drought and high temperatures have resulted in substantial dieback of silver fir in the Spanish Pyrenees. However, mortality has been much greater in populations from the westernmost Pyrenees than in eastern populations. It is hypothesized that drought-resistant eastern populations are less vulnerable to climate change-related stress than western populations. Given that […]

Deciduous species must rely on stored reserves in stems and roots for the initiation of new season springtime growth. So perhaps evergreen species that can photosynthesize year-round rely more on leaf photosynthate to initiate springtime growth and store less in stems and roots. To test this hypothesis, Wyka et al. (2016) investigated whole-plant non-structural carbohydrate […]

Plants manage water stress through various mechanisms, including increasing concentrations of compounds such as abscisic acid (ABA) to signal stomatal closure and reduce water loss, changing plant secondary metabolite concentrations, and altering morphological traits such as growth and leaf mass per area. During a drought period, plant growth often slows down earlier than carbon uptake […]

The plant ecophysiology field is intrigued and perplexed by products of photosynthesis known as soluble or non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), compounds that are used for growth, metabolism, and storage. NSC concentrations of different plant tissue (leaves, stem, bark, roots) are of research interest because they can reveal information about plant responses to environmental stress, such as […]

Drought is expected to increase in frequency and duration throughout the 21st century. However, it remains unclear how vegetation will respond to drought because the underlying physiological mechanisms are not well understood. During drought, hydraulic dysfunction may occur due to the formation of embolism or a gas-filled bubble that blocks the water transport pathway. It […]

Cavitation resistance is crucial to coping with and surviving drought.

The path to understanding water movement in leaves is not straightforward.

Tree rings record past environmental conditions, as well as the tree’s physiological response to those conditions. Although ring widths are easily measured indicators of annual tree growth, they are limited in what they can tell us about more detailed aspects of tree physiology. Fortunately, we can use stable isotopes to help us infer the tree’s […]