![]() ![]() Sperry & Love, 2015) are limiting the establishment and survival of plants, as seedlings play a critical role in tree population dynamics and shifts in species distributions under climate change (Ibanez et al., 2007 Vanderwel et al., 2013). Moreover, the increasing frequency and intensity of drought events (e.g. Despite the small size and relatively short transport distances, multiple studies have indicated that transport hydraulic efficiency and safety of seedlings play a central role in plant survival, just like in adult trees (e.g. Water relations are key issues during early ontogeny as root systems are small and shallow, water supply relies on upper soil layers, which are easily exposed to dehydration, and internal water buffers are limited. Fenner, 1987 Larcher, 2003 Smith et al., 2003 Johnson et al., 2011), because productivity and reserves are small, investments in growing organs have to be perfectly balanced and respective sensitivity to many biotic and abiotic stress factors is high. Seedlings and the following juvenile stages are at a very high risk of death (e.g. ![]() At the seedling stage, the plant relies upon reserves stored in the seed, until cotyledons unfold and start to perform active photosynthesis. Yet, the most critical and threatening stages in a tree's life can be tracked back to the very few weeks after seed germination. Trees can live for hundreds of years, sometimes facing and resisting very harsh environmental conditions during their life span. ![]()
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