The role of ecophysiological traits in driving biomass growth of Eucalyptus genetic materials with different drought tolerances
Abstract
Water deficit constrains the maximum productivity of forest plantations, even under optimal silvicultural practices and genetic selection. Breeding programs have used clonal genetic materials to enhance their drought resistance by identifying key plant mechanisms mediated by ecophysiological traits that confer resilience to water stress. We assessed how ecophysiological traits influence the biomass growth of Eucalyptus genetic materials with different levels of drought tolerance. We contrasted two genetic materials: highly productive Eucalyptus urophylla (A1) and drought-resistant Eucalyptus grandis × E. camaldulensis (C3). We analyzed 58 ecophysiological traits, categorized into six functional groups. We modeled biomass growth as a function of these traits using random forest regression models. Our results showed similar key drivers for both genetic materials, but with different responses depending on genotype. Biomass growth in A1 was primarily associated with leaf-related traits and water use, whereas biomass growth in C3 was linked to root-related ecophysiological traits and trade-offs between structural investment and growth. Overall, our findings provide actionable insights for Eucalyptus breeding programs by identifying ecophysiological functional traits that help distinguish the high-yielding and the drought-tolerant genetic materials evaluated in this study. Incorporating these traits into selection criteria can enhance the predictability and long-term performance of genetic materials under increasingly variable climatic conditions.
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BibTeX
@article{pereira2026role,
title = {{The role of ecophysiological traits in driving biomass growth of Eucalyptus genetic materials with different drought tolerances}},
author = {Kelly Marianne Guimarães Pereira and Otávio Camargo Campoe and Natielle Gomes Cordeiro and Fernanda Leite Cunha and Isáira Leite E Lopes and Hyngrid Jaiely Araújo Félix and Josiana Jussara Nazaré Basílio and Tatiani Maria Pech and Sofia Maria Gonçalves Rocha and Guerric Le Maire and Joannès Guillemot and Clayton Alcarde Alvares and Eduardo Moré de Mattos and Robert M. Hubbard and Geovanni Malatesta Barros and Jose Luiz Ferraresso Conti Junior and Gabriela Gonçalves Moreira and Marco Aurélio Figura and James Stahl and Graziela Baptista Vidaurre and Túlio Barroso Queiroz and Rafaela Lorenzato Carneiro and Jose Luiz Stape and Fabio Akira Mori and Leidiane Manoel Alves},
journal = {Agricultural and Forest Meteorology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111490},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05793470v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The role of ecophysiological traits in driving biomass growth of Eucalyptus genetic materials with different drought tolerances
AU - Kelly Marianne Guimarães Pereira
AU - Otávio Camargo Campoe
AU - Natielle Gomes Cordeiro
AU - Fernanda Leite Cunha
AU - Isáira Leite E Lopes
AU - Hyngrid Jaiely Araújo Félix
AU - Josiana Jussara Nazaré Basílio
AU - Tatiani Maria Pech
AU - Sofia Maria Gonçalves Rocha
AU - Guerric Le Maire
AU - Joannès Guillemot
AU - Clayton Alcarde Alvares
AU - Eduardo Moré de Mattos
AU - Robert M. Hubbard
AU - Geovanni Malatesta Barros
AU - Jose Luiz Ferraresso Conti Junior
AU - Gabriela Gonçalves Moreira
AU - Marco Aurélio Figura
AU - James Stahl
AU - Graziela Baptista Vidaurre
AU - Túlio Barroso Queiroz
AU - Rafaela Lorenzato Carneiro
AU - Jose Luiz Stape
AU - Fabio Akira Mori
AU - Leidiane Manoel Alves
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
DO - 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111490
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05793470v1
AB - Water deficit constrains the maximum productivity of forest plantations, even under optimal silvicultural practices and genetic selection. Breeding programs have used clonal genetic materials to enhance their drought resistance by identifying key plant mechanisms mediated by ecophysiological traits that confer resilience to water stress. We assessed how ecophysiological traits influence the biomass growth of Eucalyptus genetic materials with different levels of drought tolerance. We contrasted two genetic materials: highly productive Eucalyptus urophylla (A1) and drought-resistant Eucalyptus grandis × E. camaldulensis (C3). We analyzed 58 ecophysiological traits, categorized into six functional groups. We modeled biomass growth as a function of these traits using random forest regression models. Our results showed similar key drivers for both genetic materials, but with different responses depending on genotype. Biomass growth in A1 was primarily associated with leaf-related traits and water use, whereas biomass growth in C3 was linked to root-related ecophysiological traits and trade-offs between structural investment and growth. Overall, our findings provide actionable insights for Eucalyptus breeding programs by identifying ecophysiological functional traits that help distinguish the high-yielding and the drought-tolerant genetic materials evaluated in this study. Incorporating these traits into selection criteria can enhance the predictability and long-term performance of genetic materials under increasingly variable climatic conditions.
SN - 0168-1923
ER -