Understanding urban tree heat and drought stress

This study was conducted at an urban site in western Sydney, Australia to determine why certain urban trees were vulnerable to severe water stress and hydraulic failure. We measured environmental variables (i.e., soil volumetric water content, percentage of impervious surfaces), tree physiology (predawn and midday leaf water potential, maximum quantum yield of photosystem II), and growth of 19 urban tree species (n=3-10 trees per species) from 2019‒2023, spanning the extreme and subsequent three wet summers. Data are reported for individual trees (n=118 trees, including 28 stressed trees).

本研究于澳大利亚悉尼西部的一处城市样地开展，旨在探究部分城市树木易遭受严重水分胁迫与水力失效的机制。2019—2023年期间，研究团队测定了环境变量（包括土壤体积含水量（soil volumetric water content）、不透水面占比（percentage of impervious surfaces））、树木生理指标（黎明叶水势与正午叶水势、光系统II（Photosystem II）最大量子产率），并监测了19种城市树木的生长状况；各物种的样本量为3~10株。本研究覆盖极端夏季及后续三个湿润夏季，最终共收录118株单株树木的相关数据，其中包含28株受胁迫树木。