Height does not impair the hydraulic system of the tallest tropical Dipterocarp trees

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bittencourt, Paulo; Scheire, Arne; Jotan, Palasiah; Lourenco, Jehova; Banin, Lindsay F.; bin Suis, Mohd Aminur Faiz; Burslem, David F. R. P.; Christoffersen, Bradley; Coomes, David; Groenendijk, Peter; Jansen, Steven; Jucker, Tommaso; Matula, Radim; Mencuccini, Maurizio; Oliveira, Rafael; Plichta, Roman; Nilus, Reuben; Robert, Rolando; Svatek, Martin; Rowland, Lucy
• 署名单位: Cardiff University; University of Exeter; Czech University of Life Sciences Prague; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH); Pusat Penyelidikan Hutan; Universiti Malaysia Sabah; University of Aberdeen; University of Texas System; University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; University of Cambridge; Universidade de Sao Paulo; Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Ulm University; University of Bristol; ICREA; Mendel University in Brno
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.aea9013
• 发表日期: 2026-07-02
• 关键词: RAIN-FOREST; el-nino; drought; xylem; EMBOLISM; vulnerability; mortality; traits; LIMITS; PERSPECTIVES

摘要

Half of the aboveground biomass in forests is stored in a disproportionately small number of very tall trees. These giants are predicted to be more vulnerable to drought-induced damage because height impairs their hydraulic system. We evaluated whether the hydraulic system of world's tallest tropical tree species-Southeast Asian dipterocarps-are negatively affected by their height. The more negative xylem pressures caused by tree height were fully compensated for through adjustment of vessel anatomy and leaf hydraulic traits, and the trees suffered no height-related loss in growth during a severe drought. Therefore, height does not make the hydraulic systems of the world's tallest tropical tree species more vulnerable to drought, and the growth rates of these trees are not more negatively affected by drought than are their smaller counterparts.