Water potential is a crucial parameter for assessing tree water status and hydraulic strategies. However, methods for measuring water potential, such as the Scholander pressure chamber, are destructive and discontinuous, and difficult to perform in tall forests. Consequently, important dynamics in water potentials, particularly during short-term drought, are difficult to capture. Recent advancements have introduced low-maintenance sensors capable of measuring continuous, high-resolution stem water potentials. If applicable to forest trees, such sensors hold the potential to significantly enhance our understanding of tree water relations. We evaluated these sensors in a temperate, diffuse-porous tree species ( Carpinus betulus) over a growing season marked by dry-down periods and heat. Concurrent measurements of branch water potential, sap flow, and environmental factors (air temperature, vapor pressure deficit, and soil water content) were conducted. Midday stem water potentials of C. betulus reached minimum values of -3.39 ± 0.10 MPa and exhibited pronounced seasonal fluctuations, mirroring changes in environmental conditions and sap flow. Comparison of stem water potentials with Scholander-type measurements revealed a very good correlation with predawn (R 2 = 0.98) and a general agreement with midday measurements (R 2 = 0.71). Diurnal variations in stem water potentials and sap flow exhibited a hysteresis, consistent with other plant parameters. In this first assessment, the agreement with Scholander-type measurements, sap flow, and environmental parameters suggests the tested water potential sensors yield reliable data. If applicable to other tree species, including conifers, these sensors could significantly advance our understanding of tree water relations and their role in forest drought responses.

Droughts are occurring with increased frequency and duration in tropical rainforests due to climate change, having a significant impact on soil C dynamics. The role of microbes as drivers of changing C flow, particularly in relation to volatile organic compound (VOC) cycling, remains largely unknown. Here, we aimed to characterize microbial responses to drought using an integrative, multiple ‘omics approach, and hypothesized that microbial communities will adapt by altering their C allocation strategies. Specifically, during pre-drought, primary metabolic pathways will be more active with microbes using C towards growth, whereas during drought, microbes will divert C to secondary metabolite (including VOC) production in response to stress. To test this, we conducted an ecosystem-wide 66-day drought experiment in the tropical rainforest biome at Biosphere 2, a glass- and steel-enclosed facility near Tucson, AZ. To track carbon allocation by microbes, we injected C1 or C2 position-specific 13C-pyruvate solution into a 25 cm2 region within a soil flux chamber collar (n=6 locations) and measured C isotope ratios of VOC and CO2 emissions. Soil was collected at 0, 6, and 48 hours after pyruvate addition to examine responses in soil metatranscriptomics, metagenomics, and metabolomics (1H nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR] and Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance [FTICR]). Our results indicated that 13CO2 (primarily emitted from C1-13C-pyruvate) fluxes decreased during drought, indicating diminished microbial activity. 13C-VOCs (primarily emitted from C2-13C-pyruvate) fluxes also differed between pre-drought and drought. Furthermore, drought-induced increases in activity of VOC-producing metabolic pathways, including acetate and acetone biosynthesis, were evident, as inferred from volatilome, metabolome, and metatranscriptome data. Overall, these results indicate that integration of multiple ‘omics datasets reveal specific impacts of drought on microbial activity affecting carbon flow in the tropical rainforest soil.

Knowledge of plant hydraulic strategies (isohydric vs anisohydric) is crucial to predict the response of plants to changing environmental conditions, such as climate-change induced extreme drought. Several abiotic factors, such as evaporative demand, have been shown to seasonally modify the isohydricity of plants, however, the impact of biotic factors, such as plant-plant interactions on hydraulic strategies has seldom been explored. Here, we investigated adaptations in hydraulic strategies for two woody species in response to seasonal abiotic conditions, experimental drought and plant invasion in a Mediterranean cork oak (Quercus suber) ecosystem with a combined shrub invasion (Cistus ladanifer) and rain exclusion experiment. From summer to winter, the degree of isohydricity shifted from partial isohydric to anisohydric in Q. suber and inversely from strict anisohydric to partial isohydric for C. ladanifer. During drought, plant invasion significantly modified the hydraulic strategy of invaded Q. suber to a higher degree of anisohydricity with severe negative consequences for tree functioning, implying progressive leaf and xylem damage. The rain exclusion alone led to a non-significant increase in anisohydricity for both species. We demonstrate that the degree of isohydricity of plants is dynamically determined by the interplay of species-specific hydraulic traits and their abiotic and biotic environment.