Variación en atributos anatómicos asociados a la conducción y almacenamiento de agua, en tres poblaciones de Maihuenia poeppigii (Otto ex Pfeiff.) K. Schum. (Cactaceae) en un gradiente altitudinal

Cabral, Taís; Quezada, Iván M.; Saldaña, Alfredo

doi:10.4067/s0717-66432016000100002

Cited by 2 publications

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“…The reduction of hydraulic efficiency may be related to the limitation in d , d h and D a (Table S1). Mean tracheid diameter decreased while VD increased with increasing elevation, which is consistent with previous studies (Hernandez‐Fuentes et al, 2015) and supports the hypothesis that trees growing in high elevations subjected to frost drought have smaller tracheid diameters than the same species in warmer areas at lower elevations (Cabral et al, 2016). When temperatures drop in October and frost drought can occur at higher elevations in winter (Charrier et al, 2017; Earles et al, 2018), embolism formation can be induced.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Narrower vessels can reduce the risk of embolization to some extent, although they sacrifice part of the water transport efficiency (Christensen‐Dalsgaard & Tyree, 2014; Dai et al, 2020). Therefore, numerous studies found that vessels in plants at high elevations tended to be smaller to strengthen the embolism resistance in the xylem, revealing the adaptive strategies of plants to maintain the necessary water availability for growth and to cope with environmental stress (Cabral et al, 2016; Dai et al, 2020; Fisher et al, 2007). However, Maherali et al (2004), who identified the relationship between hydraulic conductivity, embolism resistance and climate in 167 species, found only a weak trade‐off between hydraulic efficiency and embolism resistance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elevational variations in stem hydraulic efficiency and safety of Abies fabri

et al. 2023

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The structural and functional traits of coniferous trees can reflect their growth states and adaptive strategies to a harsh environment. However, it is still unclear if and how hydraulic traits of subalpine conifers change with altitude. Therefore, the changes in stem hydraulic characteristics of Abies fabri along an elevational gradient (2700–3700 m a.s.l.) were identified in a subalpine ecosystem in southwest China and linked to anatomical properties. Xylem hydraulic efficiency decreased with increasing elevation. Surprisingly, higher hydraulic dysfunction and vulnerability to embolism occurred at higher altitudes. The trade‐off between hydraulic efficiency and safety was weak in A. fabri at higher elevations. Low temperature and superfluous precipitation may be the main constraints for hydraulic function and mechanical strength ((t/b)2)) in plants at high elevations (p < 0.05). The strongly limited hydraulic transport system reflected the severe growth constraint of A. fabri at high elevations. Although series of anatomical traits varied with elevation (e.g. smaller mean diameter of tracheid, mean hydraulic conduit diameter and mean pit aperture diameter at higher altitude) and revealed the adaptive strategies to enhance embolism resistance, thickness‐to‐span ratio ((t/b)2) played a dominant role in the trade‐off between hydraulic efficiency and safety. Thickness‐to‐span ratio was positively correlated with stem hydraulic conductivity but negatively correlated with percent loss of conductivity and water potential at 50% loss of conductivity, (t/b)2 and specific leaf area. Therefore, plants with better hydraulic and growth states at low elevations could allocate more resources to building up solid mechanical supporting systems to cope with high wind load, while those at high elevations with impaired growth states and limited hydraulic functions had to invest more resources in leaves under the harsh environment. The weak trade‐off between hydraulic efficiency and safety (lower hydraulic efficiency and high risk of embolism) could limit the growth and distribution of A. fabri at timberlines; however, global warming trends may facilitate hydraulic transport and benefit plants' growth in the future. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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