References

Ackerly DD, Dudley SA, Sultan SE, Schmitt J, Coleman JS, Linder CR, Sandquist DR, Geber MA, Evans AN, Dawson TE, Lechowicz MJ (2000) The evolution of plant ecophysiological traits: recent advances and future directions. Bioscience 50, 979–995.
| CrossRef |

Bucci SJ, Scholz FG, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Franco AC, Zhang Y, Hao GY (2008) Water relations and hydraulic architecture in cerrado trees: adjustments to seasonal changes in water availability and evaporative demand. Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 20, 233–245.
| CrossRef |

Bucci SJ, Scholz FG, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Arce ME (2009) Soil water availability and rooting depth as determinants of hydraulic architecture of Patagonian woody species. Oecologia 160, 631–641.
| CrossRef | PubMed |

Canadell J, Jackson RB, Ehleringer JR, Mooney HA, Sala OE, Schulze E-D (1996) Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale. Oecologia 108, 583–595.
| CrossRef |

Chapin FS, Autumn K, Pugnaire F (1993) Evolution of suites of traits in response to environmental stress. American Naturalist 142, S78–S92.
| CrossRef |

Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) (1997) ‘Manual for methods of soil analyses.’ 2nd edn. (Embrapa: Rio de Janeiro) [In Portuguese]

Ferreira LG, Yoshioka H, Huete A, Sano EE (2003) Seasonal landscape and spectral vegetation index dynamics in the Brazilian cerrado: an analysis within the large-scale biosphere–atmosphere experiment in Amazônia (LBA). Remote Sensing of Environment 87, 534–550.
| CrossRef |

Franco AC (1998) Seasonal patterns of gas exchange, water relations and growth of Roupala montana, an evergreen savanna species. Plant Ecology 136, 69–76.
| CrossRef |

Franco AC, Bustamante M, Caldas LS, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Kozovits AR, Rundel P, Coradin VPR (2005) Leaf functional traits of neotropical savanna trees in relation to seasonal water deficit. Trees 19, 326–335.
| CrossRef |

Givnish TJ (1988) Adaptation to sun and shade: a whole plant perspective. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 15, 63–92.
| CrossRef |

Habermann G, Ellsworth PFV, Cazoto JL, Simão E, Bieras AC (2011) Comparative gas exchange performance during the wet season of three Brazilian Styrax species under habitat conditions of cerrado vegetation types differing in soil water availability and crown density. Flora (in press). 206,
| CrossRef |

Hao G-Y, Hoffmann WA, Scholz FG, Bucci SJ, Meinzer FC, Franco AC, Cao K-F, Goldstein G (2008) Stem and leaf hydraulics of congeneric tree species from adjacent tropical savanna and forest ecosystems. Oecologia 155, 405–415.
| CrossRef | PubMed |

Haridasan M (2008) Nutritional adaptations of native plants of the cerrado biome in acid soils. Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 20, 183–195.
| CrossRef |

Hoffmann WA, Franco AC (2003) Comparative growth analysis of tropical forest and savanna woody plants using phylogenetically independent contrasts. Journal of Ecology 91, 475–484.
| CrossRef |

Hoffmann WA, Orthen B, Franco AC (2004) Constraints to seedling success of savanna and forest trees across the savanna–forest boundary. Oecologia 140, 252–260.
| CrossRef | PubMed |

Hoffmann WA, Franco AC, Moreira MZ, Haridasan M (2005) Specific leaf area explains differences in leaf traits between congeneric savanna and forest trees. Functional Ecology 19, 932–940.
| CrossRef |

Li-Cor (2001) Light sensor considerations. In ‘Li-Cor using the LI-6400 portable photosynthesis system. Book 2: useful details. Working with files’. pp. 8-2–8-3. (LI-COR Inc.: Lincoln)

Montgomery R (2004) Relative importance of photosynthetic physiology and biomass allocation for tree seedling growth across a broad light gradient. Tree Physiology 24, 155–167.
| PubMed |

Nakajima JN, Monteiro R (1987) Padrões de distribuição espacial de espécies de Styrax (Styracaceae) de cerrados. Arquivos de Biologia e Tecnologia 30, 419–430.

Pivello VR, Shida CN, Meirelles ST (1999) Alien grasses in Brazilian savannas: a threat to the biodiversity. Biodiversity and Conservation 8, 1281–1294.
| CrossRef |

Ratter JA, Bridgewater S, Ribeiro JF (2003) Analysis of the floristic composition of the Brazilian cerrado vegetation III: comparison of the woody vegetation of 376 areas. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 60, 57–109.
| CrossRef |

Rawistscher F (1948) The water economy of the campos cerrados in the Southern of Brazil. Journal of Ecology 36, 237–268.
| CrossRef |

Schenk HJ, Jackson RB (2002) Rooting depths, lateral root spreads, and belowground/aboveground allometries of plants in water-limited ecosystems. Journal of Ecology 90, 480–494.
| CrossRef |

Scholz FG, Bucci SJ, Goldstein G, Meinzer FC, Franco AC, Salazar A (2008) Plant- and stand-level variation in biophysical and physiological traits along tree density gradients in the cerrado. Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 20, 217–232.
| CrossRef |

Silva LCR, Sternberg L, Haridasan M, Hoffmann WA, Miralles-Wilhelm F, Franco AC (2008) Expansion of gallery forests into central Brazilian savannas. Global Change Biology 14, 2108–2118.
| CrossRef |

Teixeira AP, Assis MA, Siqueira FR, Casagrande JC (2008) Tree species composition and environmental relationships in a neotropical swamp forest in southeastern Brazil. Wetlands Ecology and Management 16, 451–461.
| CrossRef |

Walters MB, Reich PB (1999) Low-light carbon balance and shade tolerance in the seedlings of woody plants: do winter deciduous and broad-leaved evergreen species differ? New Phytologist 143, 143–154.
| CrossRef |