ABSTRACT: Here we address the ecophysiological linkages between plants and the water cycles in tropical forests. Specifically, we access a wide range of rain-to-dry forests that encompass three Brazilian biomes (Amazon, Atlantic, and Caatinga forests) combining global databases and field data collection on climate, plant transpiration, and mortality rates to address:
- How much tropical forests have been exposed to extreme droughts (e.g., El Niño)?
- How extreme droughts affect tree mortality when combined with anthropogenic disturbances (e.g., logging and fire), and how it can be predicted by plant strategies?
- How drought effects on tree mortality can be mediated by biotic stress (e.g., insect outbreaks)?
- How plant strategies and mortality risk can be described by their transpiration rates, and how they are shaped by environmental filters?
- How does diff rent plant strategies contribute to hydrological processes such as evapotranspiration and rainfall interception?