Drought tolerance of tree seedlings and relationships of their functional traits and survival under a drought experiment

The climate-change crisis, especially droughts, which have intensified, exposes a need for forest-restoration projects to focus more on species selection. Insufficient water stresses saplings, impacting their growth and survival after planting out. This study evaluated the drought tolerance of nine native deciduous tree species under controlled conditions and investigated relationships between 10 of their functional traits and ability to withstand desiccation. Seedlings of nine studied species were tested under drought conditions for four months. After 113 days, only Afzelia xylocarpa and Bombax ceiba survived in a no water treatment. The studied species were classified into 4 groups using 10 functional traits. A. xylocarpa and B. ceiba were grouped with other species that expressed a high value of tissue density and roots respectively. No correlation between survival time and studied traits were found. Further investigation of functional traits at different stages of plant growth in both field and controlled conditions will enhance our understanding of selecting suitable species for forest restoration in the face of uncertain future climatic conditions.