From water deficit to growth suppression: meta-analytic evidence for a functional hierarchy of drought adaptation in Hippophae rhamnoides.
- 1Academy of Forestry, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, 010010 Hohhot, China.
Abstract
Drought constrains shrub establishment and persistence in arid and semi-arid restoration systems. Although Hippophae rhamnoides is widely planted in northern China, its drought responses vary among studies, hindering the identification of stable indicators. We synthesized 3,855 treatment-control comparisons from 49 controlled experiments across 12 Chinese provinces using random-effects meta-analysis and structural equation modeling. Results showed that drought adaptation in H. rhamnoides follows a functional cascade. Water status and membrane stability were the most consistent early constraints, followed by strong suppression of photosynthetic and gas-exchange traits. Photosynthesis acted as a key mediating factor linking water deficit, hormonal adjustment, and growth reduction. Under severe drought, membrane permeability increased by 89.5%, while leaf water content, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance decreased by 37.2, 83.3, 91.2, and 92.9%, respectively. Therefore, drought evaluation should prioritize water status, membrane stability, photosynthetic performance, and growth traits.
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BibTeX
@article{shi2026from,
title = {{From water deficit to growth suppression: meta-analytic evidence for a functional hierarchy of drought adaptation in Hippophae rhamnoides.}},
author = {X Y Shi and Y Zhao and Y E Bai and D M Ye and W B Jia and X H Li and Y H He and H Li},
journal = {Photosynthetica},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.32615/ps.2026.023},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42973966},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - From water deficit to growth suppression: meta-analytic evidence for a functional hierarchy of drought adaptation in Hippophae rhamnoides.
AU - X Y Shi
AU - Y Zhao
AU - Y E Bai
AU - D M Ye
AU - W B Jia
AU - X H Li
AU - Y H He
AU - H Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/17
JO - Photosynthetica
DO - 10.32615/ps.2026.023
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42973966
AB - Drought constrains shrub establishment and persistence in arid and semi-arid restoration systems. Although Hippophae rhamnoides is widely planted in northern China, its drought responses vary among studies, hindering the identification of stable indicators. We synthesized 3,855 treatment-control comparisons from 49 controlled experiments across 12 Chinese provinces using random-effects meta-analysis and structural equation modeling. Results showed that drought adaptation in H. rhamnoides follows a functional cascade. Water status and membrane stability were the most consistent early constraints, followed by strong suppression of photosynthetic and gas-exchange traits. Photosynthesis acted as a key mediating factor linking water deficit, hormonal adjustment, and growth reduction. Under severe drought, membrane permeability increased by 89.5%, while leaf water content, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance decreased by 37.2, 83.3, 91.2, and 92.9%, respectively. Therefore, drought evaluation should prioritize water status, membrane stability, photosynthetic performance, and growth traits.
SN - 0300-3604
SN - 1573-9058
ER -