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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2026, Vol. 62 ›› Issue (6): 109-117.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20250758

• Research papers • Previous Articles    

Water Status and Non-structural Carbohydrates of Larix gmelinii var.principis-rupprechtii at Different Drought Damage Levels in Responses to Drought Stress

Ao Li1,Yuxiao Qu1,Junzhu Zou1,Yingying Yang2,Yue Wang3,Guansheng Ju1,Junxiang Liu1,*()   

  1. 1. Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091
    2. Luoyang Landscape and Greening Center Luoyang 471011
    3. Beijing Landscape and Forestry Group Co., Ltd. Beijing 100089
  • Received:2025-12-19 Revised:2026-03-12 Online:2026-06-10 Published:2026-06-13
  • Contact: Junxiang Liu E-mail:jxliu@caf.ac.cn

Abstract:

Objective: This study aims to investigate the response patterns of water status and non-structural carbohydrates of Larix gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii during the drought–rehydration process, clarify their relationships with drought damage severity, and identify physiological traits that can stably predict drought resistance, so as to provide a basis for the rapid evaluation and screening of drought-resistant lines of L. gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii. Method: Three-year-old mixed-family seedlings of L. gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii were subjected to drought stress using a pot-removal bare-root natural dehydration method. Based on needle shedding and regeneration after rehydration, drought damage severity was classified into four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and dead. Photosynthetic parameters, water potential, relative water content, and non-structural carbohydrate contents were measured. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis were conducted to determine the contributions of different traits to drought injury classification. Mildly injured seedlings were used to analyze the resilience of water-related physiological traits after rehydration and to identify effective predictive traits. Result: 1) After drought treatment, stem water potentials of mildly, moderately, severely injured, and dead seedlings were –2.43, –3.09, –3.29, and –3.55 MPa, respectively. Mildly injured seedlings showed significantly higher branch and needle relative water contents (62.75% and 73.37%, respectively) than those of the other groups. 2) After drought, there were no significant differences in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) contents in roots and stems among different damage severity classes, and there was no significant correlation between NSC content and drought damage severity. 3) Principal component analysis indicated that water-related traits contributed more to drought damage classification than non-structural carbohydrates, with water potential showing the highest loading. After rehydration, the resilience of water-related physiological traits increased with higher post-drought water potential. Conclusion: Under short-term severe drought stress, the lethal water potential threshold of L. gmelinii var. principis-rupprechtii is –3.55 MPa, and post-drought branch water potential can be used as an effective predictor of drought injury level and the resilience of water-related physiological functions.

Key words: drought stress, rehydration, water potential, non-structural carbohydrates, photosynthesis

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