A arquitetura hidráulica explica a ocorrência e a abundância de lianas em ambientes semiáridos?

Abstract

The success of lianas in seasonally dry tropical forests is explained by a competitive advantage over other growth forms. Lianas have efficient hydraulic system, with wide and long vessels, and deep roots that can absorb water from the deeper layers of the soil, ensuring carbon fixation and maintenance of high growth rates during the dry season. In semiarid environments, the occurrence and abundance of lianas are smaller and can be considered the dry extreme distribution of this growth form. We believe the efficient hydraulic system of lianas is quite vulnerable to cavitation induced-drought in arid and semiarid environments, which would decrease the competitiveness. However, empirical evidence to support this idea are remarkably scarce. Our main goal was to analyze if the physical and physiological characteristics of the hydraulic system, leaf dynamics and leaf water relations, may explain the occurrence and abundance of lianas in semiarid environments. In Chapter 1, we analyzed the hydraulic architecture of xylem along the continuum root-stem-branches three congener’s lianas occurring with contrasting abundances in two semiarid areas with differences in the structural characteristics of the soil and vapor pressure deficit of the air (VPDair). We measured the wood density (WD), the cross-sectional area occupied by parenchyma (AP), fiber (AF) and vessels (AV), vessel density (N), average vessel diameter (d) and maximum (dmax), pit diameter in the vessel walls (dpit), pits density (Npit), the hydraulic diameter (Dh) and potentially hydraulic conductivity (Kp) in branches, stems and roots. We show that lianas presented two hydraulic safety zones, one in the roots and the other in the branches, different from usually described for trees with a hydraulic safety is growing from the roots to the branches. Our results indicated that the decrease in Kp and an increase in the safety of the hydraulic branches and roots demonstrated a functional convergence of the three species. In Chapter 2, we compared root system depth, leaf dynamics, seasonal leaf water potential (Ψleaf), and cavitation resistance (P50) between species, key features that are used to explain the pattern of distribution and abundance of lianas. Our results are contrasting with the commonly described for lianas. In summary, we observed that all species had shallow roots, high variation in leaf water potential at dawn (Ψpredawn) between the rainy and dry seasons, leaf deciduousness in response to soil water stress and VPDair and greater drought resistance (P50). The greatest resistance to cavitation and leaf deciduousness increase resistance to drought in lianas, but limit carbon fixation to the rainy season. Once your roots are shallow, and leaf deciduousness prevents carbon gain and growth during the dry season, the main competitive advantage over other trees in seasonal environments, the abundance of lianas should be less.