Height does not impair the hydraulic system of the tallest tropical Dipterocarp trees
Half of the aboveground biomass in forests is stored in a disproportionately small number of very tall trees. These giants are predicted to be more vulnerable to drought-induced damage because height impairs their hydraulic system. We evaluated whether the hydraulic system of world's tallest tropical tree species-Southeast Asian dipterocarps-are negatively affected by their height. The more negative xylem pressures caused by tree height were fully compensated for through adjustment of vessel anatomy and leaf hydraulic traits, and the trees suffered no height-related loss in growth during a severe drought. Therefore, height does not make the hydraulic systems of the world's tallest tropical tree species more vulnerable to drought, and the growth rates of these trees are not more negatively affected by drought than are their smaller counterparts.
Authors
- Bradley Christoffersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4890-9999)
- Arne Scheire
- Mohd Aminur Faiz Suis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5151-599X)
- Rafael S. Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6392-2526)
- Roman Plichta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2442-8522)
- Radim Matula (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7460-0100)
- Jehová Lourenço (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7815-7209)
- Tommaso Jucker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0751-6312)
- David F. R. P. Burslem (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6033-0990)
- Lindsay F. Banin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1168-3914)
- Palasiah Jotan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4973-9407)
- Martin Svátek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2328-4627)
- Peter Groenendijk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2752-6195)
- Lucy Rowland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0774-3216)
- Steven Jansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4476-5334)
- Maurizio Mencuccini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0840-1477)
- Rolando Robert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6830-6602)
- David A. Coomes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8261-2582)
- Reuben Nilus (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7300-1360)
- Paulo Bittencourt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1618-9077)
Institutions
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Universiti of Malaysia Sabah (MY)
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR)
- University of Aberdeen (GB)
- Universität Ulm (DE)
- Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (GB)
- The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (US)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB)
- Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (ES)
- Sabah Forestry Department (MY)
- Conservation Leadership Programme (GB)
- Mendel University in Brno (CZ)
- Cardiff University (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-07-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea9013
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.30
Funders
- Natural Environment Research Council