Hydraulic vulnerability difference between branches and roots increases with environmental aridity.

Abstract

The vulnerability of plant xylem to embolism can be described as the water potential at which xylem conductivity is lost by 50% (P₅₀). According to the traditional hypothesis of hydraulic vulnerability segmentation, the difference in vulnerability to embolism between branches and roots is positive (P_{50 root-branch} > 0). It is not clear whether this occurs broadly across species or how segmentation might vary across aridity gradients. We compiled hydraulic and anatomical datasets from branches and roots across 104 woody species (including new measurements from 10 species) in four biomes to investigate the relationships between P_{50 root-branch} and environmental factors associated with aridity. We found a positive P_{50 root-branch} relationship across species, and evidence that P_{50 root-branch} increases with aridity. Branch xylem hydraulic conductivity transitioned from more efficient (e.g., wider conduit, higher hydraulic conductivity) to safer (e.g., narrower conduit, more negative P₅₀) in response to the increase of aridity, while root xylem hydraulic conductivity remained unchanged across aridity gradients. Our results demonstrate that the hydraulic vulnerability difference between branches and roots is more positive in species from arid regions, largely driven by modifications to branch traits.