Predicting plant vulnerability to drought in biodiverse regions using functional traits

Abstract

SignificanceRecent reports of widespread drought-induced plant die-back have enhanced the need to understand variation in plant hydraulic strategies and to determine which species are susceptible to drought-induced mortality. Finding meaningful ways to describe the many different types of responses plants might demonstrate in biodiverse regions can be extremely challenging. Here, we present the architecture in which functional traits can be incorporated into a known hydraulic framework to provide additional insight into the range of hydraulic strategies present in diverse communities. Merging stomatal regulation strategies that represent an index of water use behavior with xylem hydraulic strategies that represent water transport and vulnerability to water deficit behavior facilitates a more comprehensive framework to characterize plant response to drought.