Forests 2015, 6, 3733-3747; doi:10.3390/f6103733 OPEN ACCESS forests ISSN 1999-4907 www.mdpi.com/journal/forests Article Trade-Offs between Drought Survival and Rooting Strategy of Two South American Mediterranean Tree Species: Implications for Dryland Forests Restoration Juan F. Ovalle 1, Eduardo C. Arellano 1,2,* and Rosanna Ginocchio 1,2 1 Center of Applied Ecology & Sustainability, Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 340, Santiago 8320000, Chile; E-Mails:
[email protected] (J.F.O.);
[email protected] (R.G.) 2 Departamento de Ecosistemas y Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avenida Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago 8320000, Chile * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
[email protected]; Tel.: +56-2-2354-1216. Academic Editors: M. Altaf Arain and Eric J. Jokela Received: 18 August 2015 / Accepted: 10 October 2015 / Published: 15 October 2015 Abstract: Differences in water-acquisition strategies of tree root systems can determine the capacity to survive under severe drought. We evaluate the effects of field water shortage on early survival, growth and root morphological variables of two South American Mediterranean tree species with different rooting strategies during two growing seasons. One year-old Quillaja saponaria (deep-rooted) and Cryptocarya alba (shallow-rooted) seedlings were established under two watering treatments (2 L·week−1·plant−1 and no water) in a complete randomized design. Watering improved the final survival of both species, but the increase was only significantly higher for the shallow-rooted species. The survival rates of deep- and shallow-rooted species was 100% and 71% with watering treatment, and 96% and 10% for the unwatered treatment, respectively.