Drought response strategies define the relative contributions of hydraulic dysfunction and carbohydrate depletion during tree mortality.

Plant survival during drought requires adequate hydration in living tissues and carbohydrate reserves for maintenance and recovery. We hypothesized that tree growth and hydraulic strategy determines the intensity and duration of the 'physiological drought', thereby affecting the relative contributions of loss of hydraulic function and carbohydrate depletion during mortality. We compared patterns in growth rate, water relations, gas exchange and carbohydrate dynamics in three tree species subjected to prolonged drought.

The fate of hydraulically redistributed water in a semi-arid zone eucalyptus species.

Although hydraulic redistribution has been observed for a range of tree species, including Eucalyptus kochii subsp. borealis (C. Gardner) D.

Observed and modelled leaf area index in Eucalyptus globulus plantations: tests of optimality and equilibrium hypotheses.

This paper reports on variation in leaf area index (L) in five Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations in response to application of nitrogen, thinning at age 2 years and variation in climate wetness index (the ratio of rainfall to potential evaporation). Observed L is compared with: (i) L predicted to optimize net primary productivity for a given average annual temperature, annual water use and potential evaporation (L(opt)) and (ii) L calculated as a linear function of climate wetness index (L(eq)).

Plasticity in the Huber value contributes to homeostasis in leaf water relations of a mallee Eucalypt with variation to groundwater depth.

Information on how vegetation adapts to differences in water supply is critical for predicting vegetation survival, growth and water use, which, in turn, has important impacts on site hydrology. Many field studies assess adaptation to water stress by comparing between disparate sites, which makes it difficult to distinguish between physiological or morphological changes and long-term genetic adaptation. When planting trees into new environments, the phenotypic adaptations of a species to water stress will be of primary interest.

Growth efficiency increases as relative growth rate increases in shoots and roots of Eucalyptus globulus deprived of nitrogen or treated with salt.

We used calorimetry to test whether there is a single general relationship between growth and respiration in shoots and roots of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. seedlings when stressed, irrespective of the type or severity of stress. We found that nitrogen (N) deprivation and salt treatment had no effect on the relationship between growth and respiration and little effect on absolute rates of respiration.