Family imprint reveals basin-wide patterns of Amazon forest embolism resistance.
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s41467-026-69892-1.pdf
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4 MB
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Resource type
Journal article
Creator (person)
Tavares, Julia Valentim
Gloor, Emanuel
Silva, Thiago S. F.
Oliveira, Rafael S.
Coelho de Souza, Fernanda
Signori-Müller, Caroline
Diniz, Francisco Carvalho
Pereira, Luciano
Acosta, Martin
Gilpin, Martin
Marca Zevallos, Manuel J.
Salas Yupayccana, Carlos A.
Perez-Mullisaca, Flor M.
Jancoski, Halina
Scalon, Marina Corrêa
Schwantes Marimon, Beatriz
Marimon Junior, Ben Hur
Malhi, Yadvinder
Oliveras Menor, Imma
Rowland, Lucy
Meir, Patrick
Bittencourt, Paulo
Carlos Lola da Costa, Antonio
Santos, João Antônio R.
Teixeira de Oliveira, Renata
Esquivel-Muelbert, Adriane
Álvarez-Dávila, Esteban
Alexiades, Miguel N.
de Oliveira, Edmar Almeida
Andrade, Ana
Aragão, Luiz
Araujo-Murakami, Alejandro
Arroyo, Luzmila
Aymard, Gerardo
Barroso, Jorcely G.
Bonal, Damien
Brienen, Roel
Céron, Carlos
Camargo, José Luís
Silva, Richarlly
Castro, Wendeson
Chave, Jérôme
Comiskey, James
Daly, Douglas C.
Derroire, Geraldine
Disney, Mathias
Dourdain, Aurelie
Fauset, Sophie
Feldpausch, Ted
Flores Llampazo, Gerardo
Hérault, Bruno
Hernández, Lionel
Higuchi, Niro
Honorio Coronado, Eurídice N.
Jimenez-Rojas, Eliana
Kalamandeen, Michelle
Laurance, Susan
Laurance, William
Lewis, Simon
Lima, Antonio S.
Monteagudo-Mendoza, Abel
Morandi, Paulo
NúñezVargas, Percy
Neill, David
Palacios, Walter
Parada Gutierrez, Alexander
Pardo-Molina, Guido
Peñuela-Mora, Maria Cristina
Pitman, Nigel
Rojas, Rocio
Prieto, Adriana
Réjou-Méchain, Maxime
Ramírez-Angulo, Hirma
Cerruto Ribeiro, Sabina
Ruokolainen, Kalle
Salomão, Rafael P.
Serrano, Julio
Sierra, Rodrigo
Ruschel, Ademir R.
Silveira, Marcos
ter Steege, Hans
Terborgh, John
Valenzuela Gamarra, Luis
Vásquez Martinez, Rodolfo
Vieira, Ima
Vilanova Torre, Emilio
Vos, Vincent A.
Wang, Ophelia
Young, Kenneth
Muscarella, Robert
Dexter, Kyle G.
Baker, Timothy R.
Phillips, Oliver L.
Mencuccini, Maurizio
Galbraith, David
Date published
February 26, 2026
Abstract
Amazon rainforests face intensifying water stress due to increases in vapour pressure deficit and changing hydrological regimes. Embolism resistance (Ψ ) is a critical metric of tree survival under drought conditions, it is defined as a plant’s capacity to resist disruption of xylem water flow due to air bubble formation from water stress. However, measurements of Ψ are only available for a limited number of Amazon locations and species. Conversely, data on forest taxonomic composition are abundant across Amazonia, and if Ψ is conserved phylogenetically, these data could provide a way to scale-up drought resistance patterns. Here we evaluate Ψ measurements across non-flooded Amazonian tree taxa and reveal a moderate phylogenetic signal, with phylogenetic conservatism evident at the family-level. Notably, Fabaceae is amongst the most embolism-resistant tree families in Amazonia. Leveraging the phylogenetic signal we use species composition and tree size data from 448 forest plots across Amazonia to produce a macroecological assessment of Amazonian vulnerability to embolism. The resulting estimate spatial pattern reveals that forests in the Brazilian and Guiana Shield regions, where Fabaceae abundance is high, show strong resistance to embolism. In contrast, tree communities in Western Amazonia appear more vulnerable to embolism, suggesting a reduced capacity to withstand future drought conditions.
Project(s)
Priority 4: Accelerated Taxonomy
Journal title
Nature Communications
Volume
17
Article number
2073
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Place of publication
Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany
eISSN
2041-1723
Date accepted
February 10, 2026
Official URL
Rights statement
In Copyright
Additional information
IF = 15.7 (2024)