Phenology and water relations of tree sprouts and seedlings in a tropical deciduous forest of South India |
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Authors: | Sonali Saha Hormoz BassiriRad Gladwin Joseph |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Sciences M/C 066, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607-7060, USA;(2) 3085 Biological Laboratories, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA;(3) Department of Biological Sciences M/C 066, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607-7060, USA;(4) Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, 659 5th A Main Road, Hebbal, Bangalore, 560024, India |
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Abstract: | The phenology of sprouts (>1 year old, up to 1.5 m in height) and seedlings (<1 year old) of six woody species (four deciduous, one brevi-deciduous, and one evergreen) was examined during the dry season in a tropical deciduous forest of South India. Xylem water potential (x), leaf relative water content (RWC; % turgid weight), and xylem specific conductivity (K
S; kg s–1 m–1 MPa–1) of sprouts were measured on two occasions during the dry season. In addition, K
S of seedlings (<1 year old) of one deciduous and one evergreen species was determined to allow comparison with sprouts. x of deciduous species was significantly higher at the second sampling date and was accompanied by a significant increase in K
S and RWC, while the brevi-deciduous and evergreen species did not show any difference in x. Seedlings of Terminalia crenulata (deciduous) and Ixora parviflora (evergreen) had significantly lower K
S compared to sprouts, while seedlings of all four deciduous species shed their leaves much earlier in the dry season than did conspecific sprouts. More favorable water relations of sprouts compared to seedlings during the peak of the dry season may explain the lower rates of die-back and mortality of sprouts observed in dry deciduous forests of India. This revised version was published online in May 2005 with corrections to Received-/Accepted-dates. |
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Keywords: | Monsoonal forests Hydraulic conductivity Phenology Drought effects |
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