biostudies-literatureUnknown13Tang WDrought stress is a predominant environmental challenge that significantly limits plant growth and survival, particularly affecting agricultural productivity and ecological stability in arid and semi-arid regions. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological responses of one-year-old <i>Machilus faberi</i> Hemsl seedlings to various degrees of drought stress, thereby aiding their cultivation and application in challenging environments. To simulate real-world drought conditions, four levels of drought stress were defined based on soil moisture content: control (80% soil moisture), mild drought (LD, 50-60% soil moisture), moderate drought (MD, 40-50% soil moisture), and severe drought (SD, 20-30% soil moisture). These thresholds were selected to represent a gradient from optimal water avaPeerJe19855https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12433196biostudies-literaturePhysiological response mechanism of <i>Machilus faberi</i> Hemsl under drought stress and rewatering.PMC12433196Liu YSu DYan LLi YZhang DLi TMo QFu YWu ERen MTang WYu XfalsePhysiological response mechanism of <i>Machilus faberi</i> Hemsl under drought stress and rewatering.Drought stress is a predominant environmental challenge that significantly limits plant growth and survival, particularly affecting agricultural productivity and ecological stability in arid and semi-arid regions. This study aimed to elucidate the physiological responses of one-year-old <i>Machilus faberi</i> Hemsl seedlings to various degrees of drought stress, thereby aiding their cultivation and application in challenging environments. To simulate real-world drought conditions, four levels of drought stress were defined based on soil moisture content: control (80% soil moisture), mild drought (LD, 50-60% soil moisture), moderate drought (MD, 40-50% soil moisture), and severe drought (SD, 20-30% soil moisture). These thresholds were selected to represent a gradient from optimal water ava2025-01-01T00:00:00Z20252026-04-14T03:26:16.454Z2026-04-14T03:14:11.124ZS-EPMC124331964094972910.7717/peerj.19855