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Cited by 216Plant Water Relations and Carbon DynamicsEcology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesForest ecology and management

A catastrophic tropical drought kills hydraulically vulnerable tree species

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Powers, Jennifer S., Vargas G., German, Brodribb, Timothy J., Schwartz, Naomi B., Pérez‐Aviles, Daniel, Smith‐Martin, Chris M., Becknell, Justin M., Aureli, Filippo +12 more·2020·Global Change Biology
DOI 10.1111/gcb.15037
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Abstract

Drought‐related tree mortality is now a widespread phenomenon predicted to increase in magnitude with climate change. However, the patterns of which species and trees are most vulnerable to drought, and the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive, in part due to the lack of relevant data and difficulty of predicting the location of catastrophic drought years in advance. We used long‐term demographic records and extensive databases of functional traits and distribution patterns to understand the responses of 20–53 species to an extreme drought in a seasonally dry tropical forest in Costa Rica, which occurred during the 2015 El Niño Southern Oscillation event. Overall, species‐specific mortality rates during the drought ranged from 0% to 34%, and varied little as a function of tree size. By contrast, hydraulic safety margins correlated well with probability of mortality among species, while morphological or leaf economics spectrum traits did not. This firmly suggests hydraulic traits as targets for future research.

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  • Observational studies suggest that local temperature and precipitation thresholds for dieback vary substantially depending on ecological and species-specific factors.

    “Moreover, observational studies suggest that local temperature and precipitation thresholds for dieback vary substantially depending on ecological and species-specific factors 56,57 .”

    From Amazon dieback beyond the 21st century under high-emission scenarios by Earth System models (2025) · cites this paper as [56]

    The Results (page unavailable) report that mortality during the 2015 drought varied greatly among species, and a further results passage links mortality to hydraulic traits and rainfall seasonality. The paper does not establish varying local temperature or precipitation thresholds for dieback; its thresholds concern plant hydraulic function, not climate conditions. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Powers, J. S., Vargas G., G., Brodribb, T. J., Schwartz, N. B., Pérez‐Aviles, D., Smith‐Martin, C. M., Becknell, J. M., Aureli, F., Blanco, R., Calderón‐Morales, E., Calvo‐Alvarado, J. C., Calvo‐Obando, A. J., Chavarría, M. M., Carvajal‐Vanegas, D., Jiménez‐Rodríguez, C. D., Murillo Chacon, E., Schaffner, C. M., Werden, L. K., Xu, X., & Medvigy, D.
Affiliations
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Department of Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
  • University of Tasmania (AU)
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
  • Department of Ecology, Evolution, & Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul MN USA
  • Colby College (US)
  • Universidad Veracruzana (MX)
  • Guanacaste Conservation Area (CR)
  • Escuela de Ingeniería Forestal, Tecnológico de Costa Rica Cartago Costa Rica
  • Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica (CR)
  • Programa de Investigación Área de Conservación Guanacaste Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservación Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía Liberia Costa Rica
  • Harvard University (US)
  • University of Notre Dame (US)
Corresponding author
Powers, Jennifer S.
ORCID
Venue
Global Change Biology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-03-21
Volume
26
Issue
5
Pages
3122-3133
ISSN
  • 1354-1013 (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2486
DOI
10.1111/gcb.15037
OpenAlex
W3006174963
Cited by
216
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 16
FWCI
13.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Global Change Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Liverpool John Moores University (acceptedVersion)
  • OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Chester Zoo
  • National Geographic Society
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DESC0014363)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Forest ecology and management
Keywords
drought-induced tree mortality, hydraulic vulnerability, hydraulic safety margin, leaf economics spectrum, functional traits, tropical dry forest, climate change
MeSH terms
Costa Rica, Tropical Climate, Plant Leaves, Droughts, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, Forests

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