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We would like to express our gratitude to all staff and students of the Bolivian Forest Research Institute (IBIF) for their support. We thank Jose Iraipi Vaca and Estrella Yanguas Fernandez for their assistance in the field, and a special word of thanks goes to Paul Rozenboom and his staff at INPA Parket Ltda. in Concepcion, Bolivia, for letting us conduct our field studies on their property. We thank Daniel Velasquez for his logistic support during our field campaigns. Thoughtful comments by Dr David Ackerly and three anonymous referees greatly improved our manuscript. This study was supported by fellowships from the Wageningen Graduate School, Production Ecology and Resource Conservation (PE&RC) to L.M. and L.P.

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Markesteijn, LarsCorresponding Author

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October 18, 2022
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Hydraulics and life history of tropical dry forest tree species: coordination of species' drought and shade tolerance

Publicated to:New Phytologist. 191 (2): 480-495 - 2011-01-01 191(2), DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03708.x

Authors: Markesteijn, Lars; Poorter, Lourens; Bongers, Frans; Paz, Horacio; Sack, Lawren

Affiliations

IBIF, Casilla 6204, Santa Cruz Sier, Bolivia - Author
UNAM, Ctr Invest Ecosistemas, Morelia 58190, Michoacan, Mexico - Author
Univ Calif Los Angeles, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA - Author
Wageningen Univ, Ctr Ecosyst Studies, Forest Ecol & Forest Management Grp, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands - Author
Wageningen Univ, Ctr Ecosyst Studies, Resource Ecol Grp, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands - Author
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Abstract

Plant hydraulic architecture has been studied extensively, yet we know little about how hydraulic properties relate to species' life history strategies, such as drought and shade tolerance. The prevailing theories seem contradictory.We measured the sapwood (K-s) and leaf (K-l) hydraulic conductivities of 40 coexisting tree species in a Bolivian dry forest, and examined associations with functional stem and leaf traits and indices of species' drought (dry-season leaf water potential) and shade (juvenile crown exposure) tolerance.Hydraulic properties varied across species and between life-history groups (pioneers vs shade-tolerant, and deciduous vs evergreen species). In addition to the expected negative correlation of K-l with drought tolerance, we found a strong, negative correlation between K-l and species' shade tolerance. Across species, K-s and K-l were negatively correlated with wood density and positively with maximum vessel length. Consequently, drought and shade tolerance scaled similarly with hydraulic properties, wood density and leaf dry matter content. We found that deciduous species also had traits conferring efficient water transport relative to evergreen species.Hydraulic properties varied across species, corresponding to the classical trade-off between hydraulic efficiency and safety, which for these dry forest trees resulted in coordinated drought and shade tolerance across species rather than the frequently hypothesized trade-off.

Keywords

Adaptation, physiologicalBiomass allocationBoliviaCavitation resistanceDesiccation-toleranceDrought toleranceDroughtsEcosystemHydraulic conductivityJuvenile crown exposureLeaf traitsLife-history strategiesMidday dry season leaf water potentialPlant leavesPlant stemsPlant transpirationPlant vascular bundleSeasonsSeedlingsShade toleranceStress, physiologicalSummer droughtSunlightTrade-offTrade-offsTreesTropical climateTropical dry forestWaterWater transportWoodWood densityXylem cavitation

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal New Phytologist due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2011, it was in position 6/190, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Plant Sciences.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 19.88, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions Aug 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-08-11, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 226
  • Europe PMC: 90

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-08-11:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 477 (PlumX).

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Bolivia; Mexico; Netherlands; United States of America.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Markesteijn, Lars) .

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Markesteijn, Lars.