Yerba mate () agroforestry systems: intraspecific differences in water relations and hydraulic architecture.

Intensive farming systems benefit from the additional ecosystem services provided by tree integration, which generate different growing conditions for the main crop. We studied yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis ) responses to growing conditions in monoculture (the conventional cropping system of yerba mate) and in three agroforestry systems: (1) yerba mate+Balfourodendron riedelianum ; (2) yerba mate+Peltophorum dubium ; and (3) yerba mate+Toona ciliata . Mainly, we focused on water relations and the hydraulic architecture of yerba mate.

Thinning Partially Mitigates the Impact of Atlantic Forest Replacement by Pine Monocultures on the Soil Microbiome.

Forest replacement by exotic plantations drive important changes at the level of the overstory, understory and forest floor. In the Atlantic Forest of northern Argentina, large areas have been replaced by loblolly pine ( L.) monocultures.

Drought and frost resistance vary between evergreen and deciduous Atlantic Forest canopy trees.

Frost and drought are key stress factors limiting the growth and distribution of tree species. Resistance to stress involves energy costs that may result in trade-offs between different functional traits. Structures or mechanisms that can help to withstand stress imply differences in the carbon economy of the species.

Leaf phenology and water-use patterns of canopy trees in Northern Argentinean subtropical forests.

Tree physiological processes are affected not only by environmental conditions, but also by phenological leaf stages. During foliar expansion, rapid changes occur, such as the activation of metabolic processes that encompass a hydraulic link between xylem and phloem pathways at a whole-tree level. Daily and seasonal changes in stem diameter may reveal different temporal dynamics of water use and recharge in tree reservoirs.

Hydraulic architecture and photoinhibition influence spatial distribution of the arborescent palm Euterpe edulis in subtropical forests.

Physiological characteristics of saplings can be considered one of the most basic constraints on species distribution. The shade-tolerant arborescent palm Euterpe edulis Mart. is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

Functional relationships between leaf hydraulics and leaf economic traits in response to nutrient addition in subtropical tree species.

Leaves can be both a hydraulic bottleneck and a safety valve against hydraulic catastrophic dysfunctions, and thus changes in traits related to water movement in leaves and associated costs may be critical for the success of plant growth. A 4-year fertilization experiment with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) addition was done in a semideciduous Atlantic forest in northeastern Argentina. Saplings of five dominant canopy species were grown in similar gaps inside the forests (five control and five N + P addition plots).

Removal of nutrient limitations in forest gaps enhances growth rate and resistance to cavitation in subtropical canopy tree species differing in shade tolerance.

A 4-year fertilization experiment with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) was carried out in natural gaps of a subtropical forest in northeastern Argentina. Saplings of six dominant canopy species differing in shade tolerance were grown in five control and five N + P fertilized gaps. Hydraulic architectural traits such as wood density, the leaf area to sapwood area ratio (LA : SA), vulnerability to cavitation (P50) and specific and leaf-specific hydraulic conductivity were measured, as well as the relative growth rate, specific leaf area (SLA) and percentage of leaf damage by insect herbivores.