January 13, 2023
Journal Article
Soil moisture thresholds explain a shift from light-limited to water-limited sap velocity in the Central Amazon during the 2015-16 El Niño drought.
Abstract
Transpiration in tropical forests is traditionally thought to be light limited, with little constraints imposed by water limitations. The record breaking 2015-2016 El Nino drought provided an opportunity to test this paradigm. In the central Amazon, we found that that transpiration decreased significantly during the severe drought due to water limitations, not light limitations. These results are important as they reveal a potential constraint on Amazonian forest productivity under climate warming and increasing drought frequencies.Published: January 13, 2023