Tropical Plant Species Living Under P Limitation Show Signs of Greater Resistance to Drought

Tropical forests are fundamental in the global water and carbon cycles, yet they are under threat of drought induced mortality. Tropical forests typically grow in phosphorus (P) pool soils. Through compiling data from tropical forests around the world, we showed that multiple tropical species acclimated to P deficiency have a higher hydraulic safety margin, which means they are less vulnerable to hydraulic failure. Through detailed experiments in subtropical China, we further uncovered the underlying mechanism is that species acclimated to P deficiency would have higher the stem area: leaf area ratio and strengthening vessel wall reinforcement. Our finding highlights the importance of including P availability into models when forecast the mortality risk of tropical forest in response to climate changes.

Automated summary

Research has found that tropical plant species adapted to phosphorus deficiency have a higher hydraulic safety margin and are less vulnerable to hydraulic failure. These species have a higher stem-to-leaf ratio and strengthened vessel walls.