PNNL

Abstract

In recent years, widespread forest mortality in response to drought has been documented worldwide (Allen, Breshears & McDowell 2015). An example of widespread and rapid increase in drought-induced mortality, or die-off, was observed for Pinus edulis Engelm. across the Southwestern USA in response to several years of reduced rainfall and high vapor pressure deficits (VPD) (Breshears et al. 2009; Allen et al. 2010; Williams et al. 2013). Although stomatal closure under drought has been hypothesized to increase mortality through carbon starvation (McDowell et al. 2008; Breshears et al. 2009), more evidences exist for mortality being caused by hydraulic failure (Plaut et al. 2012; McDowell et al. 2013; Sevanto et al. 2014; Garcia-Forner et al. 2016). Regardless of the mechanism of drought-induced decline, maintaining a positive supply of water to the foliage is critical for tree functioning and survival.