Floral Water Status: How This Functional Trait Can Explain the Relationships between Floral Visitors Within a Phytophysiognomic Context in the Cerrado

The flora of the Cerrado is highly adaptable to climatic and edaphic variability, yet climate change and anthropogenic activities pose increasing challenges. Water is a vital resource for plant physiological and reproductive processes, and directly influences floral traits and pollinator visitation. Moreover, plant responses to fluctuations in water availability can similarly affect their ability to attract pollinators by altering floral attractants. The production and maintenance of flowers require considerable energetic investment, in addition to supporting critical physiological functions. This study assessed the water potential of Palicourea rigida inflorescences across different Cerrado phytophysiognomies and times of day, relating it to the frequency of floral visitors. The results revealed that water potential varied with environment and time and was positively correlated with visitation frequency, explaining up to 19.3 % of the variation in the number of floral visitors. These findings highlight the importance of water potential as a functional trait, especially in the context of increasing drought, with implications for reproductive success and the conservation of savanna flora. This factor should be taken into account in studies addressing functional traits in savanna ecosystems.

Keywords:
Cerrado savanna; Floral visitors; Functional traits; Palicourea rigida; Water potential