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Embolism resistance supports the contribution of dry-season precipitation to transpiration in eastern Amazon forests

M. Nehemy,C. R. Mattos,R. S. Oliveira,M. Hirota,Ying Fan,M. Schlickmann,D. Penha,L. Giacomin,Julliene S G M Silva,Mayda Rocha,Gleicy Rodrigues,Jeffrey J. McDonnell

Published 2025 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

ABSTRACT

Significance Transpiration sustains the water balance and climate of Amazon forests. During the dry season, it plays an even more critical role by supplying atmospheric moisture to produce rainfall. But explaining the sources of transpiration across different species and the landscape remains a long-standing challenge in ecohydrology. Here, we show that embolism resistance—a hydraulic trait measuring species drought resistance—strongly controls transpiration water sources across the landscape. In the dry season, a period of increased transpiration rates, sources on hills include dry-season rainfall from shallow soil layers. In valleys, sources also include older precipitation stored in deeper layers. Critically, embolism resistance controls transpiration age and can be used to parameterize vegetation water use in hydrologic and ecosystem models.

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