Africa's miombo woodlands constitute one of the most important dry tropical forests on earth, yet the hydraulic function of these woodlands remains poorly researched. Given the current predictions of increased aridity by the end of this century in the miombo ecoregion, understanding the likely response of miombo woodlands tree species to water stress is crucial in planning adaptation strategies. Predicting the response of miombo woodlands to future climate trends is hampered by a lack of knowledge on the physiology of the common miombo woodlands tree species. In particular, plant-water relations for this woodlands type are not well understood. An understanding of plant-water relations for this woodlands type will provide insights into how water limits tree species distribution in this ecosystem. This will also improve our prediction model on the likely response of this ecosystem to predicted climate change. For this reason, the overall objective of this research was to evaluate the hydraulic architecture and xylem vulnerability to cavitation for nine principal miombo woodlands tree species differing in drought tolerance ability and habitat preference. This was achieved by; examining the hydraulic properties and evaluating the extent to which each hydraulic design was vulnerable to water stress-induced xylem cavitation; investigating how seasonal changes in plant-water relations influences seasonal patterns of leaf display and; analyzing the relationship between stem hydraulic supply and leaf functional traits related to drought tolerance ability. This research has found that drought-intolerant tree species with mesic specialization have more efficient stem hydraulic systems than co-occurring habitat broad ranging species. Broad ranging tree species attain wider habitat distribution by adjusting their hydraulic supply in response to changing ecosystem water availability. The finding that hydraulic properties differ significantly between tree species with contrasting habitat preference suggests that tree hydraulic design may have some adaptive ecological role in influencing species habitat preferences in miombo woodlands. The evaluation of xylem vulnerability to cavitation revealed that mesic specialized tree species were more vulnerable to water stress-induced cavitation than habitat broad ranging tree species. Vulnerability to cavitation in individuals from the same broad-ranging species growing in contrasting habitats showed only marginal and statistically insignificant (P > 0.05) differences between wet and dry sites. In the investigation of the influence of seasonal changes in stem water relations on seasonal leaf display, seasonal rhythms in stem water status were found to exert significant controls on leaf phenology. Mesic specialists had strong stem water controls throughout the year in comparison to broad ranging tree species. An analysis of the relationship between stem hydraulic supply and leaf functional traits suggests that stem hydraulic supply constrains leaf biomass allocation patterns among miombo tree species. Mesic specialists tend to invest more in leaf longevity than broad ranging tree species. This thesis has uncovered some interesting relationships between plant-water-relations and the distribution of miombo woodlands tree species. These results lead to the conclusion that in an event of increased ecosystem drying under future climate trends, tree species with mesic specialisation are at a greater risk of experiencing cavitation related species mortality than broad ranging ones.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study was conducted in the city of Restinga Sêca, RS, with the objective to analyze the productivity, quality, botanical composition and biological characteristics of native pasture in response to fertilization and water availability. The fertilization increased native pastures productivity. The dry matter total accumulation rate, at dry or wet area, both fertilized, was 102 kg/ha/day. In the same areas, not fertilized, was 47 and 41 kg/ha/day, respectively. For green matter, the fertilization also increased the productivity, reaching accumulation rates of 70 and 93 kg/ha/day for dry and wet areas, respectively. In these not fertilized areas, the rates were 29 and 25 kg/ha/day. Furthermore, increased nitrogen and crude protein rates in plant tissues and mineral matter quantity in the plots. Water availability influenced on pasture components, as the water availability was increased, lower amount of components such as strait leaf, broad leaf and legumes and higher amount of neutral detergent fiber in tissues were observed, especially in spring period. Fertilization as well as water availability decreased the wealth of species, causing domination of some species already adapted to these conditions. Two functional groups were formed with vegetal biological characteristics, a group of capture of resources, with a high specific leaf area (SLA) (26) and low dry matter content (DMC) (234), composed by Paspalum pumilum, Paspalum urvillei, Paspalum pauciciliatum, Axonopus affinis and Setaria glauca. The other group is the conservation of resources, low SLA (21) and high DMC (323), composed by Paspalum notatum and Andropogon lateralis. / O presente trabalho foi realizado em área de pastagem natural no município de Restinga Sêca, RS, e teve como objetivos analisar a produtividade, qualidade, composição botânica e os atributos biológicos vegetais da pastagem natural em resposta à adubação e à disponibilidade hídrica. A adubação aumentou a produtividade da pastagem nativa. A taxa de acúmulo de MS Total tanto na área seca como na úmida, ambas adubadas foi de 102 kg/ha/dia. Nas mesmas áreas, não-adubadas, foi de 47 e 41 kg/ha/dia, respectivamente. Com relação ao material verde, a adubação também aumentou a produtividade chegando a taxas de acúmulo diária de 70 e 93 kg/ha para área seca e úmida, respectivamente, nessas áreas não-adubadas, as taxas foram de 29 e 25 kg/ha/dia. Além disso, aumentou o índice de nitrogênio e de PB nos tecidos vegetais e a quantidade de MM nas parcelas. A disponibilidade hídrica influenciou nos componentes da pastagem, quanto maior a disponibilidade de água, menor a quantidade de componentes como folha estreita, folha larga e leguminosas e maior a quantidade de FDN nos tecidos, principalmente no período de primavera. Tanto a adubação como a maior disponibilidade hídrica diminuíram a riqueza de espécies, fazendo com que algumas espécies adaptadas a essas condições dominassem a comunidade. Formaram-se dois grupos funcionais a partir dos atributos biológicos vegetais, um grupo de captura de recursos, com alta AFE (26) e baixo TMS (234), onde fazem parte as espécies Paspalum pumilum, Paspalum urvillei, Paspalum pauciciliatum, Axonopus affinis e Setaria glauca. O outro grupo é de conservação de recursos, com baixa AFE (21) e alto TMS (323), onde Paspalum notatum e Andropogon lateralis foram as espécies agrupadas.

Plant functional traits (plant height, aboveground biomass, R/S ratio, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, specific root length and arbuscular mycorrhizal infection) were measured for several grassland plant species growing under different soil fertility conditions in a greenhouse and a field experiments. Traits` response to nutrient addition and the differences in traits among species and between forbs and grasses were studied. Results from the greenhouse and the field experiment were compared.