Remote sensing reveals inter- and intraspecific variation in riparian cottonwood ( Populus spp) response to drought

Understanding how vegetation responds to drought is fundamental for understanding the broader implications of climate change on foundation tree species that support high biodiversity. Leveraging remote sensing technology provides a unique vantage point to explore these responses across and within species.

We investigated interspecific drought responses of two Populus species ( P . fremontii , P . angustifolia ) and their naturally occurring hybrids using leaf-level visible through shortwave infrared (VSWIR; 400-2500 nm) reflectance. As F ₁ hybrids backcross with either species, resulting in a range of backcross genotypes, we heretofore refer to the two species and their hybrids collectively as “cross types.” We additionally explored intraspecific variation in P. fremontii drought response at the leaf and canopy levels using reflectance data and thermal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery. We employed several analyses to assess genotype-by-environment (GxE) interactions concerning drought, including principal component analysis, support vector machine, and spectral similarity index.

Five key findings emerged: (1) Spectra of all three cross types shifted significantly in response to drought. The magnitude of these reaction norms can be ranked from hybrids> P. fremontii > P. angustifolia, suggesting differential variation in response to drought; (2) Spectral space among cross types constricted under drought, indicating spectral—and phenotypic—convergence; (3) Experimentally, populations of P. fremontii from cool regions had different responses to drought than populations from warm regions, with source population mean annual temperature driving the magnitude and direction of change in VSWIR reflectance. (4) UAV thermal imagery revealed that watered, warm-adapted populations maintained lower leaf temperatures and retained more leaves than cool-adapted populations, but differences in leaf retention decreased when droughted. (5) These findings are consistent with patterns of local adaptation to drought and temperature stress, demonstrating the ability of leaf spectra to detect ecological and evolutionary responses to drought as a function of adaptation to different environments.

Synthesis. Leaf-level spectroscopy and canopy-level UAV thermal data captured inter- and intraspecific responses to water stress in cottonwoods, which are widely distributed in arid environments. This study demonstrates the potential of remote sensing to monitor and predict the impacts of drought on scales varying from leaves to landscapes.