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Ecophysiological vulnerability to climate change: water stress responses in four tree species from the central mountain region of Veracruz, Mexico

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Abstract

Ecophysiological vulnerability can be understood as the degree of susceptibility or inability of an organism to adapt their physiological functions to ecological and environmental changes. Changes in water availability and water stress are critical for species, which may respond differentially to different precipitation events. We analyzed the response of leaf water potential (Ψ) and stomatal conductance (gS) to water stress to assess the ecophysiological vulnerability and evaluated the drought tolerance of four tree species from the central mountain region of Veracruz, Mexico: Alnus acuminata, Quercus xalapensis, Liquidambar styraciflua, and Pinus ayacahuite. Drought stress was imposed for 15 days (except for Q. xalapensis) and then watered for 25 days in order to evaluate the species recovery under three watering treatments: 16.67, 33.33, and 50 % field capacity. Individuals were screened throughout the experiment. Ψ and gS were measured daily showing significant decrement and differential recovery for each species. L. styraciflua and P. ayacahuite needed more water and more days to recover, whereas Q. xalapensis needed less water and resisted more days without water. We found A. acuminata as a drought-tolerant/avoider species. After analyzing the precipitation and temperature trends for the region, we found negative precipitation trends with an increase in consecutive dry days, and we found positive temperature trends. We also developed potential distribution maps for all the species in the region, and after analyzing the precipitation and temperature changes, the potential distribution maps, the resistance to water stress, the number of days before leaf drop, the Ψ and stomatal responses, and the water amount and number of days required to recover, we found L. styraciflua as the most vulnerable species and Q. xalapensis as the least vulnerable.

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Abbreviations

Ψ :

Leaf water potential

gS :

Stomatal conductance

E:

Transpiration

SLA:

Specific leaf area

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Acknowledgments

We thank Alejandro Morales, Juan Pablo Ruíz Córdova, Martín Bonifacio, and Alfredo Zamora for their help and support. Also, we thank Carlos G. Iglesias Delfín and Víctor Elías Luna Monterrojo from the Jardín Botánico Francisco Javier Clavijero, Instituto de Ecología A.C. for his help and assistance to get the plant material. We thank Dr. Timothy J. Curran for his advice and critical observations. A special thank to Dr. Mark Olson for all his support and guidance. We also want to thank Dr. Alexander Correa Metrio for his invaluable assistance and thoughtful contributions. We thank Mayank Puri for his critical review and observations. Also, we thank to the anonymous reviewers for their critical observations and in thoughtful contributions for the improving this work.

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  1. Posgrado en Geografía., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    Manuel Esperón-Rodríguez

  2. Laboratorio de Ecofisiología Tropical. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, Mexico, D.F., Mexico

    Manuel Esperón-Rodríguez & Víctor L. Barradas

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  1. Manuel Esperón-Rodríguez
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Correspondence to Víctor L. Barradas.

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Esperón-Rodríguez, M., Barradas, V.L. Ecophysiological vulnerability to climate change: water stress responses in four tree species from the central mountain region of Veracruz, Mexico. Reg Environ Change 15, 93–108 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-014-0624-x

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