A5042560862- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics
- Plant and animal studies
- Forest ecology and management
- Tree Root and Stability Studies
- Plant Diversity and Evolution
- Tree-ring climate responses
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Plant Parasitism and Resistance
- Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Environmental and Cultural Studies in Latin America and Beyond
- Leaf Properties and Growth Measurement
- Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies
- Moringa oleifera research and applications
- Community Health and Development
- Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Invertebrate Taxonomy and Ecology
- Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
- Organic Food and Agriculture
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Environmental and sustainability education
- Agricultural Innovations and Practices
- Coffee research and impacts
- Caveolin-1 and cellular processes
Instituto de Ecología
2016-2025
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
2016-2025
Rhodes University
2025
Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México
2019
Macquarie University
2012-2017
Understanding how plants survive drought and cold is increasingly important as worldwide experience dieback with in moist places grow taller warming ones. Crucial plant climate adaptation are the diameters of water-transporting conduits. Sampling 537 species across zones dominated by angiosperms, we find that size unambiguously main driver conduit diameter variation. And because have wider conduits, conduits within more vulnerable to conduction-blocking embolisms, conspecifics should be than...
Abstract Due to massive energetic investments in woody support structures, trees are subject unique physiological, mechanical, and ecological pressures not experienced by herbaceous plants. Despite a wealth of studies exploring trait relationships across the entire plant kingdom, dominant traits underpinning these aspects tree form function remain unclear. Here, considering 18 functional traits, encompassing leaf, seed, bark, wood, crown, root characteristics, we quantify multidimensional...
With data from 15 species in eight families of tropical dry forest trees, we provide evidence coordination between the stem and leaf economic spectra. Species with low-density, flexible, breakable, hydraulically efficient but cavitationally vulnerable wood shed their leaves rapidly response to drought had low mass per area content. In contrast, opposite xylem syndrome costlier more drought-resistant late season. Our results explain variation timing shedding forests: selection eliminates...
Summary The causes underlying bark diversity are unclear. Variation has been frequently attributed to environmental differences across sites. However, variation may also result from tradeoffs and coordination between bark's multiple functions. Bark traits covary with wood leaf as part of major dimensions plant variation. To assess hypotheses regarding functional coordination, we measured reflecting protection, storage, mechanics, photosynthesis in branches 90 species spanning a wide...
Global variation in total bark thickness (TBT) is traditionally attributed to fire. However, multifunctional, as reflected by its inner living and outer dead regions, meaning that, addition fire protection, other factors probably contribute TBT variation. To address how fire, climate, plant size TBT, (IBT) (OBT), I sampled 640 species spanning all major angiosperm clades 18 sites with contrasting precipitation, temperature, regime. Stem was far the main driver of thickness, environment being...
Summary Variation in angiosperm vessel diameter is of major functional significance. In the light recent models predicting optimal taper given resistance imposed by conductive path length, we tested prediction that plant size should predict diameter, with dryland plants having narrower vessels for their stem sizes. We assembled a comparative dataset including and measurements from 237 species over 40 orders across wide range habits habitats. Stem predicted self‐supporting (slope 0.36, 95% CI...
See also the Commentary by Dick and Pennington
Addressing complex environmental problems requires the collaboration of stakeholders with divergent perspectives, a goal that is challenged by diverse factors. Challenges hindering multi-stakeholder (MSC) for sustainability have previously been addressed in context transnational partnerships. However, less known regarding how place-based MSC operates, especially Global South. To contribute to addressing factors hinder South, we analyzed 38 projects spanning ecological and social contexts...
Non-technical summary Nature and culture are intricately linked the rapid loss of both biological cultural diversity around globe has led to increasing concerns about its effects on sustainability. Important efforts understand biocultural relations bolster sustainable practices have been made by scientists, local communities, civil society organizations policy makers. In spite their efforts, a stronger articulation between sectors discourses is needed for broader transformative impact. Here,...
ABSTRACT Identifying how limited resources, such as nutrients, are allocated across plant organs can provide new insights into ecophysiological strategies, well ecosystem nutrient cycles. Plants may allocate different nutrients within a specific organ or the same among organs. In this study, we explored allocation strategies of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in leaves, stems, roots nine dominant tree species secondary tropical dry forests using scaling analysis. The results showing that N P...
Most biological structures carry out multiple functions. Focusing on only one function to make adaptive inferences overlooks that manifold selection pressures and tradeoffs shape the characteristics of a multifunctional structure. single functions can lead partial picture causes underlying diversity evolutionary origin structure in question. I illustrate this discussion using bark as study case. Bark comprises all tissues surrounding xylem woody plants. Broadly, includes an inner mostly...
Abstract Flowering plants predominantly conduct water in tubes known as vessels, with vessel diameter playing a crucial role plant adaptation to climate and reactions change. The importance of vessels makes it essential understand how why diameter, height, other ecological factors are interrelated. Although shoot length is by far the main driver variation mean across angiosperms, much remains be understood regarding accounting for abundant around y ‐axis plots species against length. Here,...
Abstract Non‐structural carbohydrates (NSC) are crucial for forest resilience, but little is known regarding the role of bark in NSC storage. However, bark's abundance woody stems and its large living fraction make it potentially key We quantified total NSC, soluble sugar (SS) starch concentrations most region (inner bark, IB), sapwood twigs, trunks roots 45 species from three contrasting tropical climates spanning global extremes diversity wide phylogenetic diversity. were similar (total...
Significance For most of its path through plant bodies, water moves in conduits the wood. Plant conduction is crucial for Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, making it important to understand how natural selection shapes conduit diameters along entire lengths stems. Can mathematical modeling and global sampling explain wood ought widen from tip a trunk base? This question evolutionarily because xylem should way that keeps supply constant leaves as grows taller. Moreover, act on economy...
Abstract Trees range from small‐leaved, intricately branched species with slender stems to large‐leaved, coarsely ones thick stems. We suggest a mechanism for this pattern, known as Corner’s Rules, based on universal scaling. show similar crown area–stem diameter scaling between trunks and branches, environments, spanning wide of leaf size stem biomechanics. If maintain metabolically driven proportionality, but amounts photosynthates are produced per unit area, then the greater spacing in...
• Premise of the study: Bark functional strategies vary conspicuously within communities. As a result, predicting most community‐level bark traits based on environment often reveals little association. To complement this community‐based view, we took clade‐based approach to study potentially adaptive differences in water storage and biomechanics across habitats examined ontogenetic mechanisms that lead these differences. Methods: We studied branches nine species simaruba clade Bursera dry...
Summary Nutrient allocation is central to understanding plant ecological strategies and forest roles in biogeochemical cycles. Thought be mainly driven by environmental conditions, nutrient woody organs, especially living tissues, poorly understood. To examine the role of differences tissues (sapwood, SW, vs inner bark, IB), strategies, conditions driving scaling plants, we quantified nitrogen phosphorus main stems coarse roots 45 species from three tropical ecosystems with contrasting...
Summary Along their lengths, stems experience different functional demands. Because bark and wood traits are usually studied at single points on stems, it remains unclear how carbon allocation changes along tip‐to‐base trajectories across species. We examined vs by measuring cross‐sectional areas of outer inner (OB IB), IB regions (secondary phloem, cortex, phelloderm), from stem tips to bases 35 woody angiosperm species diverse phylogenetic lineages, climates, fire regimes, morphologies....
Bark thickness is ecologically crucial, affecting functions from fire protection to photosynthesis. scales predictably with stem diameter, but there little consensus on whether this scaling a passive consequence of growth or an important adaptive phenomenon requiring explanation. With comparative study across 913 species, we test the expectation that, if bark thickness-stem diameter adaptive, it should be possible find ecological situations in which altered, case between species different...