Family imprint reveals basin-wide patterns of Amazon forest embolism resistance

Citation

Tavares JV, Gloor E, Silva TSF, Oliveira RS, Coelho de Souza F, Signori-Müller C, Diniz FC, Pereira L, Acosta M, Gilpin M, Marca Zevallos MJ, Salas Yupayccana CA, Perez-Mullisaca FM, Jancoski H & Scalon MC (2026) Family imprint reveals basin-wide patterns of Amazon forest embolism resistance. Silva T (Researcher) Nature Communications, 17, Art. No.: 2073. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69892-1

Abstract
Amazon rainforests face intensifying water stress due to increases in vapour pressure deficit and changing hydrological regimes. Embolism resistance (Ψ50) is a critical metric of tree survival under drought conditions, it is defined as a plant’s capacity to resist disruption of xylem water flow due to air bubble formation from water stress. However, measurements of Ψ50 are only available for a limited number of Amazon locations and species. Conversely, data on forest taxonomic composition are abundant across Amazonia, and if Ψ50 is conserved phylogenetically, these data could provide a way to scale-up drought resistance patterns. Here we evaluate Ψ50 measurements across non-flooded Amazonian tree taxa and reveal a moderate phylogenetic signal, with phylogenetic conservatism evident at the family-level. Notably, Fabaceae is amongst the most embolism-resistant tree families in Amazonia. Leveraging the phylogenetic signal we use species composition and tree size data from 448 forest plots across Amazonia to produce a macroecological assessment of Amazonian vulnerability to embolism. The resulting estimate spatial pattern reveals that forests in the Brazilian and Guiana Shield regions, where Fabaceae abundance is high, show strong resistance to embolism. In contrast, tree communities in Western Amazonia appear more vulnerable to embolism, suggesting a reduced capacity to withstand future drought conditions.

Notes
Additional authors: Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Ben Hur Marimon Junior, Yadvinder Malhi, Imma Oliveras Menor, Lucy Rowland, Patrick Meir, Paulo Bittencourt, Antonio Carlos Lola da Costa, João Antônio R. Santos, Renata Teixeira de Oliveira, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, Esteban Álvarez-Dávila, Miguel N. Alexiades, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, Ana Andrade, Luiz Aragão, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Luzmila Arroyo, Gerardo Aymard, Jorcely G. Barroso, Damien Bonal, Roel Brienen, Carlos Céron, José Luís Camargo, Richarlly Silva, Wendeson Castro, Jérôme Chave, James Comiskey, Douglas C. Daly, Geraldine Derroire, Mathias Disney, Aurelie Dourdain, Sophie Fauset, Ted Feldpausch, Gerardo Flores Llampazo, Bruno Hérault, Lionel Hernández, Niro Higuchi, Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado, Eliana Jimenez-Rojas, Michelle Kalamandeen, Susan Laurance, William Laurance, Simon Lewis, Antonio S. Lima, Abel Monteagudo-Mendoza, Paulo Morandi, Percy NúñezVargas, David Neill, Walter Palacios, Alexander Parada Gutierrez, Guido Pardo-Molina, Maria Cristina Peñuela-Mora, Nigel Pitman, Rocio Rojas, Adriana Prieto, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Hirma Ramírez-Angulo, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Kalle Ruokolainen, Rafael P. Salomão, Julio Serrano, Rodrigo Sierra, Ademir R. Ruschel, Marcos Silveira, Hans ter Steege, John Terborgh, Luis Valenzuela Gamarra, Rodolfo Vásquez Martinez, Ima Vieira, Emilio Vilanova Torre, Vincent A. Vos, Ophelia Wang, Kenneth Young, Robert Muscarella, Kyle G. Dexter, Timothy R. Baker, Oliver L. Phillips, Maurizio Mencuccini & David Galbraith

Journal
Nature Communications: Volume 17