Hydraulic and photosynthetic co-ordination in seasonally dry tropical forest trees

Abstract

In the present study the linkage between hydraulic, photosynthetic and phenological properties of tropical dry forest trees were investigated. Seasonal patterns of stem-specific conductivity ( K SP ) described from 12 species, including deciduous, brevi-deciduous and evergreen species, indicated that only evergreen species were consistent in their response to a dry-to-wet season transition. In contrast, K SP in deciduous and brevi-deciduous species encompassed a range of responses, from an insignificant increase in K SP following rains in some species, to a nine-fold increase in others. Amongst deciduous species, the minimum K SP during the dry season ranged from 6 to 56% of wet season K SP, indicating in the latter case that a significant portion of the xylem remained functional during the dry season. In all species and all seasons, leaf-specific stem conductivity ( K L ) was strongly related to the photosynthetic capacity of the supported foliage, although leaf photosynthesis became saturated in species with high K L . The strength of this correlation was surprising given that much of the whole-plant resistance appears to be in the leaves. Hydraulic capacity, defined as the product of K L and the soil–leaf water potential difference, was strongly correlated with the photosynthetic rate of foliage in the dry season, but only weakly correlated in the wet season.