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Leaf hydraulic vulnerability influences species’ bioclimatic limits in a diverse group of woody angiosperms

  • Physiological ecology - Original Paper
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Abstract

The ability of plants to maintain water flow through leaves under water stress-induced tension (assessed as the leaf hydraulic vulnerability; P50 leaf) is intimately linked with survival. We examined the significance of P50 leaf as an adaptive trait in influencing the dry-end distributional limits of cool temperate woody angiosperm species. We also examined differences in within-site variability in P50 leaf between two high-rainfall montane rainforest sites in Tasmania and Peru, respectively. A significant relationship between P50 leaf and the 5th percentile of mean annual rainfall across each species distribution was found in Tasmania, suggesting that P50 leaf influences species climatic limits. Furthermore, a strong correlation between P50 leaf and the minimum rainfall availability was found using five phylogenetically independent species pairs in wet and dry evergreen tree species, suggesting that rainfall is an important selective agent in the evolution of leaf hydraulic vulnerability. Greater within-site variability in P50 leaf was found among dominant montane rainforest species in Tasmania than in Peru and this result is discussed within the context of differences in spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity and parochial historical ecology.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Damien Catchpole for his logistical support during field work in Peru and provision of meteorological data. We acknowledge the Peruvian authorities for approving the research within the national park (Authorisation No. 025-C/C-2006-INRENA-INAP and Authorisation No. 033-C/C-2008-INRENA-INAP) and the exportation of plant material (Permit NO. 000497-AG-DGFFS). We also thank Carlos Llerena, Guido Casimira and Yoshie Yoshioka for administrative and technical assistance in Peru. We are also grateful to Prof. Taylor Feild for constructive comments on the manuscript. The Australian Research Council provided support in the form of a fellowship to T.J.B. and a post-graduate grant to C.J.B.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Chris J. Blackman, Tim J. Brodribb & Gregory J. Jordan

Authors
  1. Chris J. Blackman
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  2. Tim J. Brodribb
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  3. Gregory J. Jordan
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Correspondence to Chris J. Blackman.

Additional information

Communicated by Frederick Meinzer.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

442_2011_2064_MOESM1_ESM.doc

Online Resource 1. Ancestral habitat affinity for the Tasmanian species and the 5th and 95th percentile of mean annual rainfall across each Tasmanian species’ distribution (DOC 141 kb)

Online Resource 2. Phylogeny of the plant species sampled from Tasmania and Peru (DOC 61 kb)

Online Resource 3. Remaining vulnerability curves for the Peruvian montane rainforest species (DOC 764 kb)

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Blackman, C.J., Brodribb, T.J. & Jordan, G.J. Leaf hydraulic vulnerability influences species’ bioclimatic limits in a diverse group of woody angiosperms. Oecologia 168, 1–10 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2064-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2064-3

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