Hydraulic traits are not robust predictors of tree species stem growth during a drought in a wet tropical forest

Severe droughts have led to lower plant growth and high mortality in many ecosystems worldwide, including tropical forests. Drought vulnerability differs among species but there is limited consensus on the nature and degree of this variation in tropical forest communities. Understanding species-level vulnerability to drought requires examination of hydraulic traits since these reflect the different strategies species employ for surviving drought. Here we examined hydraulic traits and growth reductions during a severe drought for 12 common woody species in a wet tropical forest community in Puerto Rico to ask:
Q1. To what extent can hydraulic traits predict growth declines during drought? We expected that species with more hydraulicly vulnerable xylem and narrower safety margins would grow less during drought.
Q2. How do species successional association relate to levels of vulnerability to drought and hydraulic strategies? We predicted that early- and mid-successional species would exhib...