Herbaceous leaf hydraulic trade-offs shape ecosystem function across the Mongolian Plateau
Abstract
Plant hydraulic traits are fundamental to ecosystem drought responses, yet their integrated roles in mediating community-level functions remain unclear, especially for widespread herbaceous plants in drylands. Through a systematic investigation of herbaceous communities at 306 sites along a precipitation gradient of 152–411 mm across the Mongolian Plateau. We reveal that a community-wide trade-off between plant hydraulic efficiency and safety fundamentally organizes ecosystem function. Increasing aridity drives a strategic shift from efficiency- to safety-oriented traits. This governs a core functional trade-off: hydraulic efficiency enhances aboveground biomass by supporting greater photosynthetic carbon assimilation but reduces water-use efficiency and ecosystem stability, whereas safety traits exhibit the opposite pattern. Our quantified trait-based framework explains substantial variance in biomass (43%), water-use efficiency (40%), and ecosystem stability (60%). These findings establish a predictive mechanism for vegetation dynamics and provide essential insights for resilience-focused ecosystem management.
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BibTeX
@article{guo2026herbaceous,
title = {{Herbaceous leaf hydraulic trade-offs shape ecosystem function across the Mongolian Plateau}},
author = {Xinlei Guo and Xu Wang and Chengzhen Jia and Tao Liu and Zhiyong Li and Huamin Liu and Lixin Wang and Yang Wang and Lei Dong and Cunzhu Liang and Jinghui Zhang},
journal = {Communications Earth \& Environment},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1038/s43247-026-04121-7},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04121-7},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Herbaceous leaf hydraulic trade-offs shape ecosystem function across the Mongolian Plateau
AU - Xinlei Guo
AU - Xu Wang
AU - Chengzhen Jia
AU - Tao Liu
AU - Zhiyong Li
AU - Huamin Liu
AU - Lixin Wang
AU - Yang Wang
AU - Lei Dong
AU - Cunzhu Liang
AU - Jinghui Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Communications Earth & Environment
DO - 10.1038/s43247-026-04121-7
UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04121-7
AB - Plant hydraulic traits are fundamental to ecosystem drought responses, yet their integrated roles in mediating community-level functions remain unclear, especially for widespread herbaceous plants in drylands. Through a systematic investigation of herbaceous communities at 306 sites along a precipitation gradient of 152–411 mm across the Mongolian Plateau. We reveal that a community-wide trade-off between plant hydraulic efficiency and safety fundamentally organizes ecosystem function. Increasing aridity drives a strategic shift from efficiency- to safety-oriented traits. This governs a core functional trade-off: hydraulic efficiency enhances aboveground biomass by supporting greater photosynthetic carbon assimilation but reduces water-use efficiency and ecosystem stability, whereas safety traits exhibit the opposite pattern. Our quantified trait-based framework explains substantial variance in biomass (43%), water-use efficiency (40%), and ecosystem stability (60%). These findings establish a predictive mechanism for vegetation dynamics and provide essential insights for resilience-focused ecosystem management.
SN - 2662-4435
ER -