Water-spender strategy is linked to higher leaf nutrient concentrations across plant species colonizing a dry and nutrient-poor epiphytic habitat

Synthesis. This study highlights how an opportunistic, water-spender strategy is advantageous for maximizing nutrient capture and for successful colonization of dry and nutrient-poor habitats with extreme fluctuations in resource availability. Given that this acquisitive strategy enables plants to avoid climatic extremes, we propose that species capable of faster and more profligate water and nutrient use during short wet pulses are better preadapted to cope with increasingly irregular rainfall and more frequent drought associated with ongoing climate aridification in many dryland regions.