TABLE 2.
Plant functional type (PFT) classification. Selected PFTs and corresponding number of species, genera and studies for which root hydraulic properties were investigated. PFTs were defined based on commonly used classifications in land surface models (Poulter et al., 2015), and additional features such as growth form, differentiation between woody and herbaceous vegetation and agronomical importance.
| PFT | Description | Species examples | Nr. Species | Nr. Genera | Nr. Studies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crop herbaceous | Herbaceous crop species (legumes and non‐legumes), excluding all C3 and C4 grasses | Tomato, soybean, lupin | 23 | 17 | 50 |
| Crop woody | Woody crop species | Cotton, grapevine | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| C3 grass | Grass species with a C3 photosynthetic pathway. Most species investigated corresponded to grasses used as crops | Barley, rice, wheat | 9 | 7 | 50 |
| C4 grass | Grass species with a C4 photosynthetic pathway. All species investigated corresponded to grasses used as crops | Maize, sorghum, pearl millet | 4 | 4 | 40 |
| Broadleaf tree | Decidious and evergreen broadleaf tree species, including fruit trees | Quercus spp., Populus spp., apple | 64 | 30 | 54 |
| Needle tree | Decidious and evergreen needle tree species | Pinus spp., Picea spp., Abies spp. | 39 | 12 | 28 |
| Tropical tree | Broadleaf tree species from tropical ecosystems | Piper spp., Shorea spp. | 37 | 31 | 9 |
| Shrub | Decidious and evergreen shrub species | Juniperus spp., Rhamnus spp. | 29 | 17 | 10 |
| Succulent | Succulent species from arid ecosystems | Agave spp., Opuntia spp. | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| Other | All species that could not be assigned to any of the defined PFTs | Arabidopsis thaliana., dendrobium, Iris germanica | 3 | 3 | 6 |