Leaf habits and their relationship with leaf and wood traits in tropical dry forests

Ribeiro, Douglas Rodrigues; Silva, José Luiz Alves; Nascimento, Marcelo Trindade; Vitória, Ângela Pierre

doi:10.1007/s00468-021-02200-0

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 129 publications

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“…Tree communities in these areas are dominated by species that invest in short-lived acquisitive leaves and short, hard woods to deal with high temperature, rainfall seasonality and sandy soils (Silva et al 2021b). This is consistent with findings that in seasonal forests in the northernmost Atlantic Forest the prevalence of nitrogen-rich leaves across species is associated with enhanced carbon acquisition (Ribeiro et al 2021). There were also cases of limited correspondence, such as in floristic region 12, which is functionally structured over seven regions while showing a less variable phylogenetic structure (Cantidio & Souza 2019, Rezende et al 2020.…”

Section: Functional Regions Of the Atlantic Forestsupporting

confidence: 87%

Mapping functional tree regions of the Atlantic Forest: how much is left and opportunities for conservation

2022

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Summary Many biomes still lack an overall view of their macro-functional structure (i.e., natural biogeographical regions and zones), including the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot. The effective design of protected areas depends on the spatial identification of units with ecologically distinct content, whether it be floristic, phylogenetic or functional. This study used a regionalization approach to identify the potential functional regions of the Atlantic Forest by interpolating functional data from forest remnants into the entire original occurrence area of the biome, including deforested lands. Conservation status was then estimated. Analysis of seven traits of leaf, wood, seed and plant size revealed that the biome is structured over 14 functional regions and three zones (clusters of regions). Functional regions represented specific combinations of traits rather than being characterized by extremely high or low values of a single trait. They retained an average of 29.5% of forest remnants (range: 7.63–54.66%) and 10.82% of protected areas (range: 0.35–35.78%). By analysing the functional space occupied by all regions, captured by two principal component analysis axes using the pixel-level information contained in interpolated trait maps, we showed that large parts of this space were not covered by forest remnants or protected areas and that the most represented regions had serious deficits in protected areas. Although the Serra do Mar mountain range in the south and south-east Atlantic Forest is relevant as a centre of species endemism and richness and has received considerable attention for carrying out ecological studies and creating protection areas, this range does not fully encompass the functional biodiversity of such a rich biome. Our results demonstrate the potential for combining regionalization and conservation approaches to unravel the macro-structures of biomes.

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Section: Functional Regions Of the Atlantic Forestsupporting

confidence: 87%

Mapping functional tree regions of the Atlantic Forest: how much is left and opportunities for conservation

2022

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“…Like C. spinosum, G. fragrans is a heliophilous species with an early to intermediate position in the natural succession [50]. Such species tend to be opportunistic and fastgrowing [33], but our results revealed significant differences that could be linked to distinct leaf habits [35]. C. spinosum is a semideciduous species that sheds its leaves at the onset of the dry season and leafs out again quickly, within a few weeks.…”

Section: Different Growth Strategies In Seedlings Of the Caribbean Dr...mentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Fast-growing trees are often pioneer species, displaying low wood density, deciduous foliage and large stature. Slow-growing species are often climax species and tend to have high wood density, evergreen foliage and small stature [34,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth, Xylem Vulnerability to Cavitation and Leaf Cell Response to Dehydration in Tree Seedlings of the Caribbean Dry Forest

Mira

Cochard

Evette

et al. 2023

Forests

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The characterisation of ecological strategies to predict drought response is still lacking for Caribbean dry forest seedlings. This study documents growth characteristics and tolerance to drought via xylem hydraulic and leaf cell properties of three dominant native species of the Caribbean dry forest. Twenty morphological and physiological traits were assessed in Citharexylum spinosum, Guaiacum officinale and Guapira fragrans in greenhouse conditions. The seedlings displayed contrasting growth rates, which were positively correlated with the capacity to quickly develop a large leaf area and root fraction. The three species had a similar xylem tolerance to embolism (P50: −4 MPa) but differed in leaf cell tolerance to dehydration, which was negatively correlated with RGR (R2 > 0.87). The slowest-growing, G. officinale, had high leaf tolerance to cell dehydration due to low ΨTLP and πo, but displayed a narrow hydraulic safety margin. The leaves of the fast-growing C. spinosum were sensitive to leaf dehydration but exhibited a surprisingly wide stem hydraulic safety margin. G. fragrans had intermediate traits. Our results showed that dry forest seedling growth in similar environments can exhibit distinct carbon growth strategies as well as contrasting water-use strategies, primarily as they relate to drought resistance, due to variation in root development and leaf cell resistance to dehydration. Our study thus provides an approach to estimate species performance under drought conditions.

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“…In the other gallery forest species, anatomical functional traits are less related to drought tolerance, responding positively to the water availability of the ecosystem that guarantee regular water supply with low need to investment in hydraulic safety. Larger vessels and smaller proportions of adaxial epidermis and palisade parenchyma are characteristics of plants with some degree of leaf deciduousness, where the senescence of leaves in the dry period of the year is a strategy to prevent water loss by the plant (Ribeiro et al, 2022). We emphasize that seven of the 10 species from the gallery forest exhibit some degree of deciduousness (deciduous or semideciduous).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…The PP-SP (leaf blade to parenchyma) ratio of each habitat reveals a higher occurrence of spongy parenchyma in the gallery forest species and, moreover, the leaf blade mesophyll is composed of conspicuous intercellular spaces (Figure 5D, F). In this case, the larger amount of spongy parenchyma in the leaf blade is associated with the lower investment in hydraulic safety and drought resistance (Binks et al, 2016) and a more efficient resource acquisition strategy for deciduous plants (Ribeiro et al, 2022). Palisade parenchyma (PALI) values ≥50% are commonly recorded in neotropical savanna trees (Bieras and Sajo, 2009;Ferreira et al, 2015;Ariano and Silva, 2016;Simioni et al, 2017), and…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anatomical functional traits and hydraulic vulnerability of trees in different water conditions in southern Amazonia

Júnior

Marimon‐Junior

Marimon

et al. 2023

American J of Botany

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Premise Understanding tree species' responses to drought is critical for predicting the future of tropical forests, especially in regions where the climate is changing rapidly. Methods We compared anatomical and functional traits of the dominant tree species of two tropical forests in southern Amazonia, one on deep, well‐drained soils (cerradão [CD]) and one in a riparian environment (gallery forest [GF]), to examine potential anatomical indicators of resistance or vulnerability to drought. Results Leaves of CD species generally had a thicker cuticle, upper epidermis, and mesophyll than those of GF species, traits that are indicative of adaptation to water deficit. In the GF, the theoretical hydraulic conductivity of the stems was significantly higher, indicating lower investment in drought resistance. The anatomical functional traits of CD species indicate a greater potential for surviving water restriction compared to the GF. Even so, it is possible that CD species could also be affected by extreme climate changes due to the more water‐limited environment. Conclusions In addition to the marked anatomical and functional differences between these phytophysiognomies, tree diversity within each is associated with a large range of hydraulic morphofunctional niches. Our results suggest the strong potential for floristic and functional compositional shifts under continued climate change, especially in the GF.

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Leaf habits and their relationship with leaf and wood traits in tropical dry forests

Cited by 10 publications

References 129 publications

Mapping functional tree regions of the Atlantic Forest: how much is left and opportunities for conservation

Mapping functional tree regions of the Atlantic Forest: how much is left and opportunities for conservation

Growth, Xylem Vulnerability to Cavitation and Leaf Cell Response to Dehydration in Tree Seedlings of the Caribbean Dry Forest

Anatomical functional traits and hydraulic vulnerability of trees in different water conditions in southern Amazonia

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