Water stress and recovery dynamics of physiological function and growth in juvenile Pinus radiata
Clicks: 2
ID: 316424
2026
Article Quality & Performance Metrics
Overall Quality
Not rated
Combines reader engagement with the AI quality analysis. This
article has not been analysed, so there is no overall score —
reader engagement is measured and shown alongside.
Reader Engagement
Emerging Content
0.3
/100
2 views
1 readers
AI Quality Assessment
Not analyzed
Readership in this journal
EmergingRanked #80 of 81 articles by views in Tree physiology
Most read
Least read
Bar heights use a square-root scale.
Mint this article as an NFT
Not yet mintedCreate a permanent, verifiable on-chain record of this article on the Scimatic Network. The NFT is held in your Journament account, and you can withdraw it to your own wallet at any time.
5
SUSD
one-off · no wallet required
Abstract
Forests worldwide face increasingly frequent, prolonged, and severe droughts driven by climate change, causing widespread tree dieback and productivity losses. Yet predicting how trees recover water-carbon balance and growth after non-lethal drought remains challenging. To address this, we subjected juvenile Pinus radiata D.Don - a drought-tolerant, strongly isohydric conifer - to moderate (14 weeks) and extended (20 weeks) dry-down periods. We continuously monitored stem radial growth and water reserves for over six months with high-resolution dendrometers, alongside weekly measurements of leaf gas exchange, capturing fine-scale dynamics of water-carbon balance and growth during stress and recovery. We recorded a complete recovery of leaf function and stem growth in all plants after drought release, but recovery rate depended on drought duration: plants under prolonged stress recovered more slowly. Stomatal conductance returned to control levels after c. 1.5 and 2.5 weeks following moderate and extended drought, respectively, whereas net $\mathrm{CO_{2}}$ assimilation recovered within c. 1.5 weeks regardless of drought duration. In contrast, cambial activity resumed rapidly, within a few days up to a week, as soon as stem water reserves were refilled. Growth recovery was rapid even in plants that experienced very low water potentials and nearly two months in a neutral or negative carbon balance state. Wood formation resumed ahead of photosynthesis recovery, reflecting a decoupling between carbon source and sink processes. Although drought reduced total radial growth, aboveground biomass gain in stressed plants remained comparable to that of well-watered controls, even for those with a growing period halved because of drought. This high degree of growth resilience arose through compensatory growth, with post-stress growth rates 1.4-2.4 times higher than pre-stress rates. These findings provide new insights into drought response and recovery in a conifer with conservative water regulation and will improve model predictions of juvenile-tree resilience under future climates.
| Reference Key |
openalex_W7163914918
Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using
SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
|
|---|---|
| Authors | Dejan Firm, Damien Sellier, Warren Yorston |
| Journal | Tree physiology |
| Year | 2026 |
| DOI |
10.1093/treephys/tpag051
|
| URL | |
| Keywords | Keywords not found |
Citations
No citations found. To add a citation, contact the admin at info@scimatic.org
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment on this article.