Faster vegetative growth in Arabidopsis thaliana in heat and drought

Climate change is increasing average temperature and decreasing water availability, both stressors that affect plant growth. High heat consistently decreases growth rate but plants may grow rapidly to escape drought or grow more slowly and avoid water loss. We use Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate how heat and drought together shape plant growth and if their impact differs between plants that escape or avoid drought. Our results show that leaf area growth differs but the response to heat and drought is consistent between locally adapted populations in widespread plants like A. thaliana.