As the climate continues to warm there is an increasing atmospheric demand for water, which is mediated through surface evaporation and plant transpiration. This increased atmospheric demand, measured by vapor pressure deficit (VPD) can lead to plant water stress and thus has profound implications for plant water use, hydraulic strategies, morphology and net carbon uptake. Above and belowground hydraulic tradeoffs may mitigate against the increased stress, although functional plasticity may be limited for specific species leading to altered ecosystem composition and function. This session will span across scales, from mechanistic processes related to water extraction, plant hydraulics, ecohydrology, landscape level modeling and linkages to management decisions.