Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (12): 2120-2131.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.12.13

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of drought stress and rehydration on the physiological characteristics of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings

WANG Zixiang1(), REN Yue2, LU Ying1, GAO Guanglei1,3,4,5,6(), DING Guodong1,4,5,6, ZHANG Ying1,4,5,6   

  1. 1. School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2. College of Desert Control Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, Inner Mongolia, China
    3. State Key Laboratory for Efficient Production of Forest Resources, Beijing 100083, China
    4. Yanchi Ecology Research Station of the Mu Us Desert, Yanchi 751500, Ningxia, China
    5. Engineering Research Center of Forestry Ecological Engineering, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100083, China
    6. Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2024-05-26 Revised:2024-09-19 Online:2024-12-15 Published:2024-12-20
  • Contact: GAO Guanglei E-mail:Alphawzx@163.com;gaoguanglei@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

In this study, we investigated the physiological responses of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings to drought stress and subsequent rehydration. A pot experiment was conducted using 2-year-old seedlings subjected to five water treatments, including control (80%), light drought (40%), moderate drought (20%), severe drought (10%), and extremely severe drought (5%). We measured leaf water content, photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, leaf osmoregulatory substances, and antioxidant enzyme activity during drought and after rehydration. The results showed the following: (1) The physiological state of the seedlings was minimally affected by the light drought. The activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase peaked under moderate and severe drought stress, increasing by 25.26% and 38.8%, respectively. Conversely, the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and photochemical quenching coefficient under extremely severe drought stress decreased by 94.76%, 87.19%, and 72.35%, respectively, while the leaf malondialdehyde content was the highest in this condition. (2) The chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf proline content of the seedlings were restored to control levels after rehydration. However, the average photosynthetic indices of rehydrated leaves only returned to 28.51% after extremely severe drought stress. Additionally, leaf water use efficiency, soluble sugar content, and antioxidant enzyme activity were significantly higher than the control after rehydration (P<0.05). In conclusion, extremely severe drought stress primarily reduces photosynthetic ability and disrupts the cell membrane stability of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings. Conversely, rehydration after moderate drought improves water utilization and the scavenging ability of reactive oxygen species, thereby improving drought resistance. This improved information provides theoretical insights for the efficient cultivation, management, and evaluation of drought resistance in the Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantation.

Key words: Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, drought stress, rehydration, physiological characteristics