Plant Functional Traits Predict the Drought Response of Native California Plant Species

Premise of research. As extreme climate events, such as California’s 2012–2016 drought, become more frequent with climate change, it is imperative to understand how different native plant communities respond to drought-induced dehydration stress. Chaparral and California sage scrub (CSS), two widespread plant communities in California, face threats from droughts of increased frequency and severity. Despite chaparral and CSS plants being adapted to seasonal drought conditions, it is not known how the strategies of recovery from extreme multiyear droughts associated with changing climate differ between them.Methodology. We measured chlorophyll fluorescence and water potentials for two evergreen chaparral shrubs (Heteromeles arbutifolia and Quercus berberidifolia) and two drought deciduous CSS shrubs (Salvia leucophylla and Salvia mellifera) in the Santa Monica Mountains both during and after the extreme drought in California (between 2015 and 2017).Pivotal results. We found that the maximum electron transpo...