Warming accelerates soil respiration and enhances the carbon sequestration in shrub and grass patches in Patagonian steppes.

Under the scenario of global warming, the response of carbon (C) fluxes of arid and semi-arid ecosystems, is still not well understood. A field warming experiment using open top chambers (OTCs) was conducted in a shrub-grass patagonian steppe to evaluate the effects on bare soil respiration (R), and ecosystem respiration (R), gross primary productivity (GPP) and net C exchange (NEE) during the growing season. Air (T) and soil (T) temperature, and soil available phosphorus changed significantly while there were no changes in soil moisture, soil organic carbon, total soil nitrogen and root biomass, after one-year of treatment.

Bark and sapwood water storage and the atypical pattern of recharge and discharge of water reservoirs indicate low vulnerability to drought in Araucaria araucana.

Stored water in inner tissues influences the plant water economy, which might be particularly relevant for trees facing increasing dry conditions due to climate change. We studied the water storage in the inner bark and the sapwood of Araucaria araucana (Molina) K. Koch.

Functional relationships between hydraulic traits and the timing of diurnal depression of photosynthesis.

The hydraulic coordination along the water transport pathway helps trees provide adequate water supply to the canopy, ensuring that water deficits are minimized and that stomata remain open for CO uptake. We evaluated the stem and leaf hydraulic coordination and the linkages between hydraulic traits and the timing of diurnal depression of photosynthesis across seven evergreen tree species in the southern Andes. There was a positive correlation between stem hydraulic conductivity (k ) and leaf hydraulic conductance (K ) across species.