drought tolerance

Drought-tolerant species, compared to drought avoiders, are able to keep their stomata open for longer as plant water deficit becomes more severe, so that plant water potential and soil water potential rapidly become more negative. The strategy of drought tolerance reduces the risk of carbon starvation (ie. exhaustion of carbohydrates) in a prolonged drought.

This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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