Acquisitive root exploration strategies help maintain higher peak sap flux rates during summer drought, but more root biomass does not
Newton H. Tran·M. Luke McCormack·Meghan Midgley·Ray Dybzinski·Ella C. Segal·Charles H. Cannon·Chai‐Shian Kua·Christine R. Rollinson·Colleen M. Iversen·Marvin Lo
Roots are responsible for soil water uptake, yet little is known about how variation in fine-root traits relates to whole-tree water movement, particularly during periods of drought. By combining a 3-yr dataset monitoring sap flow rates with measures of fine-root biomass, length, and morphology across 10 tree species, we addressed hypotheses concerning the role of fine-root system size and morphology in determining tree responses to summer drought as well as potential changes in their relative i