Stem hydraulic conductivity and vulnerability to cavitation for 26 tree species in Panama

Stem hydraulic conductivity and vulnerability to cavitation were measured for 26 tree species located in Panama. The data were generated to better understand the ecology of the focal tree species. Complementary NGEE-Tropics datasets for these species include sap flow, leaf-level gas exchange, and leaf water potential. Stem samples were collected from distal branches of canopy trees, brought to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute laboratory in Gamboa, Panama, and allowed to dry to various water potentials before measurements. For each species, a Weibull function was fit to the 90% quantile of the relationship between stem area specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and stem water potential. From these functions, maximum Ks and vulnerability parameters were derived. The data files in the package include raw data, derived parameters, and the R script used for analysis.