Lianas exhibit lower leaf drought resistance than trees in both tropical dry and wet forests in Thailand
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Issued Date
2025-06-01
Resource Type
ISSN
03672530
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105002938221
Journal Title
Flora: Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants
Volume
327
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Flora: Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants Vol.327 (2025)
Suggested Citation
Han L., Tinprabat P., Maenpuen P., Chanthorn W., Marod D., Tor-ngern P., Thinkampheang S., Nathalang A., Brockelman W.Y., Zhang S., Chen Y. Lianas exhibit lower leaf drought resistance than trees in both tropical dry and wet forests in Thailand. Flora: Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants Vol.327 (2025). doi:10.1016/j.flora.2025.152730 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/109793
Title
Lianas exhibit lower leaf drought resistance than trees in both tropical dry and wet forests in Thailand
Author's Affiliation
Chulalongkorn University
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kasetsart University
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University
Thailand National Science and Technology Development Agency
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Forest Ecosystem Stability and Global Change
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kasetsart University
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden Chinese Academy of Sciences
Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University
Thailand National Science and Technology Development Agency
Yunnan Key Laboratory for Forest Ecosystem Stability and Global Change
Corresponding Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
The abundance and diversity of tropical lianas have been increasing, particularly in forests experiencing seasonal drought. Leaf drought resistance is a critical leaf function associated with plant survival, growth, and reproduction. However, it remains debated whether leaf drought resistance between coexisting trees and lianas differs along gradients of water availability. In this study, we compared leaf pressure volume curves and leaf morphological traits of 78 co-occurring liana and tree species from two tropical seasonal forests with differing water availability in Thailand. We found that lianas showed a less negative (lower drought resistance) water potential at turgor loss (Ψtlp) than co-occurring trees in both tropical dry and wet forests. Lianas and trees from the tropical dry forest exhibited a higher leaf drought resistance than those from the tropical wet forest. Overall, growth-form and site explained more variation in leaf drought resistance than phylogeny, indicating that leaf drought resistance is labile under contrasting water availability. When considering the effects of phylogeny, there is a correlated evolution of leaf drought resistance and morphological traits (e.g. leaf thickness, leaf mass per area, leaf density, and leaf dry mass content) across species. We conclude that lianas have lower leaf drought resistance compared to co-occurring trees in both tropical dry and wet forests. Further studies are necessary to examine how these trait differences between co-occurring lianas and trees change along a broader aridity gradient.