Synergistic Interactions Between Leaf Traits and Photosynthetic Performance in Young <i>Pinus tabuliformis</i> and <i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i> Trees Under Drought and Shade.

ABSTRACT: Spring droughts, increasingly coinciding with canopy shade, interactively stress the growth of urban tree species and are poorly understood in Beijing. Three-year-old saplings of Pinus tabuliformis and Robinia pseudoacacia were subjected to comparative analysis under four drought-shade sequences, with a full-light, well-watered treatment serving as the control. During two periods encompassing the drought to wilting point and subsequent rewatering, we assessed leaf morphology, water status, photosynthetic gas exchange, and chlorophyll fluorescence. Both species exhibited losses in leaf water and carbon assimilation under drought, yet their adaptive strategies substantially differed. P. tabuliformis conserved water through the stable leaf anatomy and conservative stomata

SUBMITTER: Yang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12473763 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature