importance of wood traits and hydraulic conductance for the performance and life history strategies of 42 rainforest tree species

• Published in: The New phytologist Vol. 185; no. 2; pp. 481 - 492
• Main Authors: Poorter, Lourens, McDonald, Imole, Alarcón, Alfredo, Fichtler, Esther, Licona, Juan-Carlos, Peña-Claros, Marielos, Sterck, Frank, Villegas, Zulma, Sass-Klaassen, Ute
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2010; Blackwell Publishing; Blackwell Publishing Ltd; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological; adult stature; adults; anatomy & histology; canopy; carbohydrate storage; Cavitation; Comparative analysis; Comparative studies; Conductance; Density; Drought; Ecological life histories; ecological strategy; Ecosystem; Forest ecology; Forest trees; functional traits; good predictors; growth; growth & development; Growth rate; growth-rates; height; Herbivores; hydraulic conductance; Hydraulics; leaf; Life history; Light; Parenchyma; photosynthetic traits; Phylogenetics; physiology; Plant cover; Plant ecology; Plant species; Plant Stems; Plant Stems - anatomy & histology; Plant Stems - physiology; Plant Transpiration; Plants; Rain; rain forests; Rainforests; Resistance; risk; seedling shade; shade tolerance; Species; Storage; Survival; survival rate; Trees; Trees - anatomy & histology; Trees - physiology; Tropical Climate; tropical trees; Vessels; water stress; Wood; Wood - growth & development; Wood density; Wood structure; Xylem; Xylem - physiology

In a comparative study of 42 rainforest tree species we examined relationships amongst wood traits, diameter growth and survival of large trees in the field, and shade tolerance and adult stature of the species. The species show two orthogonal axes of trait variation: a primary axis related to the v...