Cavitation resistance (stem P50) related to biome and life histories
There was no significant difference in P50 between life history types (resprouters vs non-sprouters, P = 0.688; broadleaved vs terete leaves, P = 0.888; Table 2). However, there was a significant interaction between biome and leaf form for stem P50 (P = 0.013; Table 2). Broadleaved species in the arid biome were significantly more drought tolerant than broad and terete leaved species in the humid biome, whilst broadleaved species in the humid biome were significantly less drought tolerant than both leaf forms in the arid biome (Fig 2). Such that drought tolerance increased from the humid biome broad to terete leaved species then to the arid biome terete to broad leaved species. No significant interaction between resprouting ability and biome was detected (Table 2), however non-sprouting and resprouting species in the arid biome were more drought tolerant than resprouters in the humid biome (Fig 2).