Files and links (2)
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
The role of hydraulic failure in a massive mangrove die-off event
Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol.13, 822136
27/04/2022
Metrics
191 File views/ downloads
49 Record Views
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites
Abstract
Between late 2015 and early 2016, more than 7,000 ha of mangrove forest died along the coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in northern Australia. This massive die-off was preceded by a strong 2015/2016 El Niño event, resulting in lower precipitation, a drop in sea level and higher than average temperatures in northern Australia. In this study, we investigated the role of hydraulic failure in the mortality and recovery of the dominant species, Avicennia marina, 2 years after the mortality event. We measured predawn water potential (Ψpd) and percent loss of stem hydraulic conductivity (PLC) in surviving individuals across a gradient of impact. We also assessed the vulnerability to drought-induced embolism (Ψ50) for the species. Areas with severe canopy dieback had higher native PLC (39%) than minimally impacted areas (6%), suggesting that hydraulic recovery was ongoing. The high resistance of A. marina to water-stress-induced embolism (Ψ50 = −9.6 MPa), indicates that severe water stress (Ψpd < −10 MPa) would have been required to cause mortality in this species. Our data indicate that the natural gradient of water-stress enhanced the impact of El Niño, leading to hydraulic failure and mortality in A. marina growing on severely impacted (SI) zones. It is likely that lowered sea levels and less frequent inundation by seawater, combined with lower inputs of fresh water, high evaporative demand and high temperatures, led to the development of hyper-salinity and extreme water stress during the 2015/16 summer.
Details
- Title
- The role of hydraulic failure in a massive mangrove die-off event
- Creators
- Alice Gauthey - Western Sydney UniversityDiana Backes - Western Sydney UniversityJeff Balland - Western Sydney UniversityIftakharul Alam - James Cook UniversityDamien T Maher - Southern Cross UniversityLucas A. Cernusak - James Cook UniversityNorman C Duke - James Cook UniversityBelinda E Medlyn - Western Sydney UniversityDavid T. Tissue - Western Sydney UniversityBrendan Choat - Western Sydney University
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in Plant Science, Vol.13, 822136
- Identifiers
- 991013015498502368
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2022 Gauthey, Backes, Balland, Alam, Maher, Cernusak, Duke, Medlyn, Tissue and Choat. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article