Pacific Northwest Research Station

Title: Hydraulic architecture of two species differing in wood density: opposing strategies in co-occurring tropical pioneer trees

Author: McCulloh, Katherine A.; Johnson, Daniel M.; Meinzer, Frederick C.; Voelker, Steven L.; Lachenbruch, Barbara; Domec, Jean-Christophe.

Date: 2012

Source: Plant, Cell and Environment. 35: 116-125

Description: Co-occurring species often have different strategies for tolerating daily cycles of water stress. One underlying parameter that can link together the suite of traits that enables a given strategy is wood density. Here we compare hydraulic traits of two pioneer species from a tropical forest in Panama that differ in wood density: Miconia argentea and Anacardium excelsum. As hypothesized, the higher wood density of Miconia was associated with smaller diameter vessels and fibers, more water stress-resistant leaves and stems, and roughly half the capacitance of the lower wood density Anacardium. However, the scaling of hydraulic parameters such as the increases in leaf area and measures of hydraulic conductivity with stem diameter was remarkably similar between the two species. The collection of traits exhibited by Miconia allowed it to tolerate more water stress than Anacardium, which relied more heavily on its capacitance to buffer daily water potential fluctuations. This work demonstrates the importance of examining a range of hydraulic traits throughout the plant and highlights the spectrum of possible strategies for coping with daily and seasonal water stress cycles.

Keywords: Anacardium excelsum. Miconia argentea, hydraulic conductivity, vulnerability curves, xylem anatomy

View and Print this Publication (414.35 KB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
• You may send email to pnw_pnwpubs@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication. (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

McCulloh, Katherine A.; Johnson, Daniel M.; Meinzer, Frederick C.; Voelker, Steven L.; Lachenbruch, Barbara; Domec, Jean-Christophe.  2012.  Hydraulic architecture of two species differing in wood density: opposing strategies in co-occurring tropical pioneer trees.   Plant, Cell and Environment. 35: 116-125.