Academic Journal
Species intraspecific variation drives tropical forest drought resistance.
| Τίτλος: | Species intraspecific variation drives tropical forest drought resistance. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Smith-Martin CM; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA. smithmar@umn.edu.; Department of Ecology Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. smithmar@umn.edu., Muscarella R; Plant Ecology and Evolution, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden., Brodribb TJ; ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia., Uriarte M; Department of Ecology Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. |
| Πηγή: | Nature [Nature] 2026 Sep; Vol. 657 (8130), pp. 164-169. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 12. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Nature Publishing Group Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0410462 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1476-4687 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00280836 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nature Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Basingstoke : Nature Publishing Group Original Publication: London, Macmillan Journals ltd. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Drought Resistance*/physiology , Forests* , Tropical Climate*, Plant Stomata/physiology ; Trees/physiology ; Trees/classification ; Droughts ; Puerto Rico ; Rain ; Species Specificity |
| Περίληψη: | Severe droughts are increasingly driving tree mortality, yet predicting forest resilience remains limited by a lack of understanding of within-species variation in drought resistance1-4. Although hydraulic traits such as embolism resistance are central to drought survival, studies conducted primarily in temperate regions have reported little intraspecific variation5-12, implying that there are evolutionary constraints in the adaptive potential of tree species. Here we test this assumption using a dataset comprising 11 hydraulic traits for 290 trees representing 18 species collected along Puerto Rico's fourfold rainfall gradient (1,000 to 4,000 mm per year). We find that substantial intraspecific variation, together with species turnover, drives coordinated shifts in drought resistance across the gradient. Most species exhibit substantially more embolism resistance and wider stomatal safety margins in drier forests, demonstrating a considerable level of intraspecific variation in tropical trees and a mechanism for adaptation to increasingly dry conditions. Species lacking such trait variability may be highly vulnerable under a future drier climate. Incorporating both interspecific and intraspecific trait variation into predictive models will advance our ability to forecast forest resilience to intensifying droughts. (© 2026. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.) |
| Competing Interests: | Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. |
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| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260812 Date Completed: 20260903 Latest Revision: 20261008 |
| Update Code: | 20261008 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-026-10870-4 |
| PMID: | 42587148 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1476-4687 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-026-10870-4 |