Physiological coordination between plant height and xylem hydraulic traits is aligned with habitat water availability across Earth's terrestrial biomes, according to a new study.
Physiological coordination between plant height and xylem hydraulic traits is aligned with habitat water availability across Earth's terrestrial biomes, according to a new study.
Ecologists from the South China Botanical Garden (SCBG), Chinese Academy of Sciences, concluded that such coordination plays an important role in determining global sorting of plant species, and can be useful in predicting future species distribution under climate change scenarios.
People all know that plants grow taller in wetter places, but what factors set their maximum height? Through previous experiments on tall trees, scientists have revealed that increasing hydraulic resistance associated with increasing plant height limits the distance water can be transported through xylem to top leaves. This hydraulic resistance thus sets the maximum height of a species in a given habitat.
However, scientists didn't understand how this physiological coordination varied across a broad range of species and environments.
Read more at Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Image: Trees grow in Dinghushan National Nature Reserve (SCBG), Guangdong, China (Credit: YE Qing)
