Dynamics of hydraulic function recovery of karst trees following extreme drought and its influencing factors

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2024.0424

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Global climate change is exacerbating the frequency of extreme drought events, underscoring the critical need to understand the resilience of trees and the factors influencing their recovery following these events.

Methods Seven dominant tree species in karst evergreen and deciduous broadleaf mixed forest in Guilin, Guangxi, were selected to analyze the dynamic differences of xylem water transport function and its correlation with xylem characteristics and environmental factors at the end of extreme drought and after drought.

Important findings (1) With the exception of Cinnamomum camphora, all the studied tree species showed a percentage loss of xylem hydraulic conductivity (PLC) exceeding or approximating 50% at the end of extreme drought, with a maximum value of 87.92%. Across all the species, PLC demonstrated a linear decrease in relation to increasing xylem saturation water content at the end of extreme drought. Furthermore, PLC of porous species was significantly and positively correlated with xylem density (WD), but negatively with xylem saturation water content (SWC), indicating that xylem water storage capacity plays a crucial role in influencing the water transport function of karst trees under extreme drought conditions. (2) Following an extreme drought event, PLC in Fraxinus griffithii significantly increased in the subsequent spring. This suggests that the formation of new xylem vessels may be a critical mechanism for restoring water transport function in this species. In contrast, Choerospondias axillaris, Quercus acutissima, Quercus glauca, Boniodendron minius, and Machilus calcicola exhibited a significant increase in PLC within 3 and 13 days post-drought, respectively. For these species, the refilling of embolized xylem vessels appears to be the primary strategy for recovering water transport capacity. (3) Following an extreme drought event, the recovery degree of PLC in all tree species, measured over the final six sampling periods, exhibited a significant positive correlation with the mean saturated water vapor pressure deficit (VPD) within three days preceding each sampling, indicating the degree of atmospheric aridity significantly influenced the hydraulic function recovery of karst trees after soil moisture replenishment. (4) During the recovery process after extreme drought, most tree species showed embolism levels comparable to, or exceeding, those observed at the drought’s culmination. The ring-porous species demonstrated a greater degree embolism fatigue compared to diffuse-porous species.

Key words: hydraulic conductance, spontaneous recovery, xylem water storage capacity, air drought, embolic fatigue

JIA Hui-Lin, NI Long-Kang, QIN Jia-Shuang, LIAO Su-Hui, TAN Yu, HE Jia-Yi, GU Da-Xing. Dynamics of hydraulic function recovery of karst trees following extreme drought and its influencing factors[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2025, 49(12): 2004-2014.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2024.0424

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2025/V49/I12/2004

Figures/Tables 9

Fig. 1 Monthly precipitation and average monthly air temperature in 2022 and 2000-2021, respectively. Ra, monthly precipitation in 2022; Rh, historical precipitation in 2000-2021; Ta, average air monthly temperature in 2022; Th, historical air temperature in 2000-2021.

Fig. 2 Monthly Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) of Lingchuan Country during the monitoring period.

Fig. 3 Daily average air temperature (Ta), daily average saturated vapor pressure deficit (VPD), daily average soil moisture content (Ws) and daily precipitation (Ra) at the sampling site from November 2022 to November 2023.

Table 1 Sampling information of karst tree species in Lingchuan County

物种 Species	代码 Code	生活型 Life form	材性 Material properties
麻栎 Quercus acutissima	Qa	落叶乔木 Deciduous tree	环孔材 Ring porous wood
南酸枣 Choerospondias axillaris	Ca
光蜡树 Fraxinus griffithii	Fg
青冈 Quercus glauca	Qg	常绿乔木 Evergreen tree	散孔材 Diffuse porous wood
灰岩润楠 Machilus calcicola	Mc
黄梨木 Boniodendron minius	Bm
樟 Cinnamomum camphora	Cc

Fig. 4 Dynamic changes in the degree of xylem embolism among seven tree species in karst regions after extreme drought (mean ± SE). PLC, percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity. Different uppercase letters in the figure indicate significant differences in the degree of xylem embolism within each tree species at different times (p < 0.05), and different lowercase letters indicate significant differences in the degree of xylem embolism between different tree species at the same time (p < 0.05).

Fig. 5 Relationship between xylem embolism degree and xylem characteristics at the end of extreme drought. BT, bark thickness; Ks, maximum hydraulic conductivity of xylem; PLC, Percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity; SWC, saturated water content of xylem; WD, xylem density. Species names are shown in Table 1.

Table 2 Correlation analysis between xylem embolism recovery rate and xylem characteristics

恢复率/木质部特征 Recovery rate/xylem characteristics		WD	K_S	BT	SWC
短期恢复率 Short-term recovery rate	环孔材 Ring porous wood	-0.334	0.042	-0.348	0.435
	散孔材 Diffuse porous wood	0.284	-0.611	-0.571	-0.545
	所有树种 All tree species	0.001	0.096	-0.232	0.068
长期平均恢复率 Long-term average recovery rate	环孔材 Ring porous wood	-0.136	0.244	-0.150	0.244
	散孔材 Diffuse porous wood	0.508	-0.077	-0.927	-0.664
	所有树种 All tree species	0.212	0.057	-0.246	-0.245

Fig. 6 Relationship between the average degree of recovery of percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) (D-PLC) of the seven tree species of karst area in Guilin, Guangxi compared with the last measurement and the mean saturated vapor pressure deficit (VPD) (A-VPD) and soil moisture content (A-Ws) in the 3 days before PLC measurement. The degree of recovery of the PLC compared to the last measurement is calculated as follows: current PLC - last PLC, a positive value means that the current PLC is higher than the last PLC, and a negative value means that the current PLC is lower than the last PLC.

Fig. 7 Relationship between long-term average recovery rate (LAR) and coefficient of variation (CV) of percentage loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC). Long-term average recovery rate, the average of the embolism recovery rates measured six times after the end of the drought. The species names are shown in Table 1.

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