Hydraulic failure and tree mortality: from correlation to causation

Mantova, Marylou; Herbette, Stéphane; Cochard, Hervé; Torres‐Ruiz, José M.

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2021.10.003

Cited by 61 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Air bubbles rapidly propagate and spread within the vascular system until all vessels are embolized, with the spatial pattern of propagation depending on the vessel arrangement and connectivity ( Johnson et al, 2020 ; Wason et al, 2021 ). Complete loss of water transport capacity results in desiccation of living tissue and cellular death, including meristematic cells that govern post-drought resilience, finally resulting in whole tree mortality ( Li et al, 2016 ; Mantova et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Deciphering the Process Of Drought-induced Hydraulic Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Unlocking Drought-Induced Tree Mortality: Physiological Mechanisms to Modeling

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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Drought-related tree mortality has become a major concern worldwide due to its pronounced negative impacts on the functioning and sustainability of forest ecosystems. However, our ability to identify the species that are most vulnerable to drought, and to pinpoint the spatial and temporal patterns of mortality events, is still limited. Model is useful tools to capture the dynamics of vegetation at spatiotemporal scales, yet contemporary land surface models (LSMs) are often incapable of predicting the response of vegetation to environmental perturbations with sufficient accuracy, especially under stressful conditions such as drought. Significant progress has been made regarding the physiological mechanisms underpinning plant drought response in the past decade, and plant hydraulic dysfunction has emerged as a key determinant for tree death due to water shortage. The identification of pivotal physiological events and relevant plant traits may facilitate forecasting tree mortality through a mechanistic approach, with improved precision. In this review, we (1) summarize current understanding of physiological mechanisms leading to tree death, (2) describe the functionality of key hydraulic traits that are involved in the process of hydraulic dysfunction, and (3) outline their roles in improving the representation of hydraulic function in LSMs. We urge potential future research on detailed hydraulic processes under drought, pinpointing corresponding functional traits, as well as understanding traits variation across and within species, for a better representation of drought-induced tree mortality in models.

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Section: Deciphering the Process Of Drought-induced Hydraulic Failurementioning

confidence: 99%

Unlocking Drought-Induced Tree Mortality: Physiological Mechanisms to Modeling

et al. 2022

Front. Plant Sci.

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“…During the mortality process, visual symptoms such as leaf colour (Anderegg & Anderegg, 2013) and physiological traits such as plant water content (Sapes et al, 2019) have been used to monitor or predict tree death, particularly for gymnosperms, although recent studies have challenged the leaf colour approach (Hammond et al, 2019). Besides, the vitality and functionality of meristematic cells (Mantova, Herbette et al, 2021; Mantova, Menezes‐Silva, et al, 2019) should also be considered to help identify the point of tree death. Fourth, drought‐induced tree mortality is a complex process and linked with many drivers, where hydraulic failure in the xylem is one of them (Camarero, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the limits of plant drought stress and subsequent recovery in four provenances of a widely distributed subtropical tree species

Duan

Dios

Wang

et al. 2022

Plant Cell & Environment

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Drought-induced tree mortality may increase with ongoing climate change. Unraveling the links between stem hydraulics and mortality thresholds, and the effects of intraspecific variation, remain important unresolved issues. We conducted a water manipulation experiment in a rain-out shelter, using four provenances of Schima superba originating from a gradient of annual precipitation (1124-1796 mm) and temperature (16.4-22.4°C). Seedlings were droughted to three levels of percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (i.e., P 50 , P 88 and P 99) and subsequently rewatered to field capacity for 30 days; traits related to water and carbon relations were measured. The lethal water potential associated with incipient mortality was between P 50 and P 88 . Seedlings exhibited similar drought responses in xylem water potential, hydraulic conductivity and gas exchange. Upon rehydration, patterns of gas exchange differed among provenances but were not related to the climate at the origin. The four provenances exhibited a similar degree of stem hydraulic recovery, which was correlated with the magnitude of antecedent drought and stem soluble sugar at the end of the drought. Results suggest that there were intraspecific differences in the capacity of S. superba seedlings for carbon assimilation during recovery, indicating a decoupling between gas exchange recovery and stem hydraulics across provenances.

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“…Common perceptions, such as the link between high vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and cavitation (e.g. Schultz & Matthews, 1997; Breshears et al ., 2013; Cochard et al ., 2021; Mantova et al ., 2021), are essentially theoretical, and even the assumption that cavitation occurs at midday (Tyree & Zimmermann, 2002; Choat et al ., 2012; Trifilò et al ., 2017) has never been directly tested.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In situ, direct observation of seasonal embolism dynamics in Aleppo pine trees growing on the dry edge of their distribution

et al. 2022

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Summary Xylem embolism impairs hydraulic conductivity in trees and drives drought‐induced mortality. While embolism has been monitored in vivo in potted plants, and research has revealed evidence of embolism in field‐grown trees, continuous in situ monitoring of cavitation in forests is lacking. Seasonal patterns of embolism were monitored in branchlets of Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) trees growing in a dry Mediterranean forest. Optical visualization (OV) sensors were installed on terminal branches, in addition to monthly sampling for micro computed tomography scans. We detected 208 cavitation events among four trees, which represented an embolism increase from zero to c. 12% along the dry season. Virtually all the cavitation events occurred during daytime hours, with 77% occurring between 10:00 and 17:00 h. The probability for cavitation in a given hour increased as vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increased, up to a probability of 42% for cavitation when VPD > 5 kPa. The findings uniquely reveal the instantaneous environmental conditions that lead to cavitation. The increased likelihood of cavitation events under high VPD in water‐stressed pines is the first empirical support for this long hypothesized relationship. Our observations suggest that low levels of embolism are common in Aleppo pine trees at the dry edge of their distribution.

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Hydraulic failure and tree mortality: from correlation to causation

Cited by 61 publications

References 69 publications

Unlocking Drought-Induced Tree Mortality: Physiological Mechanisms to Modeling

Unlocking Drought-Induced Tree Mortality: Physiological Mechanisms to Modeling

Testing the limits of plant drought stress and subsequent recovery in four provenances of a widely distributed subtropical tree species

In situ, direct observation of seasonal embolism dynamics in Aleppo pine trees growing on the dry edge of their distribution

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