We studied the effects of extreme heat on urban trees in Western Sydney during Australia’s record-breaking summer of 2019-20.

It can be hard to predict how individual trees will respond to heat stress.

As part of the latest research, we grew seedlings in a glasshouse to test how access to water affected heat tolerance.

In urban trees, leaves reached lethal temperatures of 49-50℃ for species with the lowest rates of water loss.

When species with low rates of water loss had access to water, there was little heat damage or scorched leaves.

    • Treevan 🇦🇺@aussie.zoneOP
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      1 year ago

      But they don’t share their water with us in the form of transpiration. They hog it.

      But, some avenues of exotic cactus would be very cool.