A comparison of five methods to assess embolism resistance in trees

•Xylem embolism resistance was estimated in 11 species with contrasted wood anatomy and vessel length.•All methods tested provided consistent results in short-vessel angiosperm species.•The Pneumatic method underestimated embolism resistance in conifers and 2 long-vessel angiosperms.•Air-injection and Flow-centrifuge methods consistently estimated embolism resistance intraspecific variability in a conifer.•Turgor loss point measurements were used to evaluate the reliability of vulnerability curves.