Post- drought Malosma laurina Recovery Measured Through Hydraulic Conductivity

Malosma laurina, commonly known as Laurel Sumac, is an important species because of its ability to pull up water from its deep tap roots helping this plants survive long droughts. The Laurel Sumac is found in the Santa Monica Mountains of California and is very important to the ecological environment because its roots help redistribute water and nutrients into the upper layers of the soil. The past five years have been unprecedented drought in Southern California resulting in large dieback of many species including Malosma Laurina which could negatively affect the health of other species of plants. Due to recent rainfall, these species could possibly hav e made a recovery. This study examines whether Malosma laurina will recover from recent rainfall; testing the hydraulic conductivity of its stems, xylem specific conductivity, leaf specific conductivity, and percent embolism in resprouts of a control group and dieback groups. The data shows no significant difference between control and dieback plants, but a significant difference in post-drought xylem specific conductivity when compared to drought xylem specific conductivity. This data suggests recovery among the Malosma laurina plant