Fig. 1.

A schematic diagram outlining the methods workflow, which combines hydrology, physiology and demography of the tropical forest at Barro Colorado Island to inform the inverse model for rooting depths; validates it, and tests hypotheses pertaining to relationship of rooting depths with aboveground hydraulic traits, drought exposure, and drought‐induced mortality. ELM‐FATES, Energy Exascale Earth System Land Model coupled with the Functionally Assembled Terrestrial Ecosystem Simulator; ET, evapotranspiration; LMA, leaf mass per unit area.