Adaptation potential of Neotropical montane oaks to drought events: Wood anatomy sensitivity in Quercus delgadoana and Quercus meavei

• Published in: Functional ecology Vol. 37; no. 7; pp. 2040 - 2055
• Main Authors: Argüelles‐Marrón, Beatriz, Meave, Jorge A., Luna‐Vega, Isolda, Crispin‐DelaCruz, Doris B., Szejner, Paul, Ames‐Martínez, Fressia N., Rodríguez‐Ramírez, Ernesto C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-07-2023
• Subjects: Adaptation; Anatomy; Cavitation; Climate; Climate change; Climate prediction; Cloud forests; Drought; Embolism; Endemic species; Environmental requirements; Evapotranspiration; Hardwoods; High resistance; Hydraulic equipment; Hydraulics; Mathematical analysis; Oak; oak wood; Plant anatomy; Plant species; Quercus delgadoana; relict species; resilience to drought; threatened oak species; Threatened species; Tropical forests; Variability; vessel variability; Vessels; Water availability; Wood; Xylem; xylem cavitation resistance
• ISSN: 0269-8463; 1365-2435
• DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14362

Climate and local water availability are major evolutionary drivers of adaptive variation and plasticity in the hydraulic architecture of Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) tree species. Between‐year xylem vessel variability is key to understanding the adaptation potential of wood anatomy of trees to drought. How wood anatomical features have been influenced by the typical TMCF climate and how tree species persist in these environments remain open questions, particularly in the context of predicted extreme climate events in the future.
Here, we evaluated the effects of changes in temperature, precipitation and evapotranspiration during drought events on ring‐width and anatomical vessel traits (hydraulic diameter, vessel density, vessel grouping index and vulnerability index) for two relict endemic and threatened oak species (Quercus delgadoana and Q. meavei) from a Mexican TMCF.
The study species differed in their functional and ecological vessel anatomical traits, and their wood anatomical differences are related to specific environmental requirements. However, the ring‐width indices (RWIs) calculated for these species indicate that both have high resistance and recovery, and thus high resilience to drought events.
Ring‐width and vessel functional traits show differences in the between‐year variability of xylem traits associated with the hydraulic efficiency of these oak species, which is crucial to understanding how they avoid drought‐induced embolism and cavitation in vessel conduits. These results provide evidence for the existence of specific hydraulic systems that determine functional wood anatomy in response to climatic variation and drought in the study species. Further research assessing the wood anatomical adaptation to different climatic variables and identifying the xylem functional traits that underlie these adaptations, along with the mechanisms allowing tree species persistence in these environments, is essential to gain insight into the responses of TMCF to future drought events.
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Resumen Hñähñu
Ra m’ui ra hai ne ra njabi de ra dehe ha n’a ra luga gea ya mudi konts’i ra mpungi de ra ñohmi pätui ne ra “plasticidad” ha ra “arquitectura hidráulica” de ya klase ya za ha n’a ra mboza de ‘bongui. Ko ya ñohmi de ya ‘ñu’ba ga ntiendehu ra ts’edi pätui de ya za ha ra ‘yot’i’mu. Ra nsu de ya klase de ya za ha n’a ra m’ui ra hai de ya mboza de ‘bongui ne ra ntseti ha nuya hai indui pädihe, ham’u di ñähe de ra hmpadi ra pahai o ra tsehai ha ya ngäts’i jeya, ko ra mpadi mefa.
Da enihe ra ote de ya mponi de ra tse o ra pa, ra y’e ne ra nponi’pa ham’u ja ra ‘yot’i’mu ra te ra za ne ra ‘ñu’ba (diámetro hidráulico, densidad de vasos, índice de agrupación de vasos e índice de vulnerabilidad) pa yoho ya klase de ga xiza (Quercus delgadoana y Q. meavei) de n’a ra mboza de ‘bongui ha nuua ‘Monda.
Ya hnxadi u’di ‘nañ’o ya klase de ya funcio (anatómicas y ecológicas) de ya ‘ñu’ba de ya za, nuya ya fincio nja ko ra y’e, ra pa o ra tse thogi ha ra ximhai. Gogehmä, ra nt’eni ra ndä te de ra za pa ma ra ya klase de ya za, nuya u’di ge ya za ja ra tsedi pa da tho ra ‘yot’imu.
Ra nguni te de ya za, ne ya funcio u’di ‘nañ’o ya ñoni de ra ‘ñu’ba de nuya xiza, nu’a xa mahyoni pa hin da nja ra (embolismo ne ra cavitación) po ra ‘yot’i’mu ha ya ‘ñu’ba. Ma b’efihe u’di ge ja ya (mecanismos hidráulicos) ge et’i ra klase ya za, ko rañohmi ra m’ui ra hai ne ra ntädi ha ra ‘yot’i’mu de ya xiza. Mefa ya b’efi da eni ra “adaptación anatómica” de ra za ha ‘nañ’o ya m’ui ra hai ne ya fincio de ra ‘ñu’ba ge di nzahi, xa mahyoni pa ga pädihe ra ts’edi ra mbonza de ‘bongui ha ya m’efa ‘yot’i’mu.
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.