Response of functional characters of Artemisia ordosica at different ages to drought in Mu Us Sandy Land
The purpose of this study was to explore the response and age class differences of desert plant of twig and leaf functional traits to drought stress,and to provide theoretical basis for understanding the adaptability of desert plants under extreme drought caused by changes in precipitation patterns and predicting the succession trend of desert plant.In this study,Artemisia ordosica,a typical sand plant in desert areas,was selected as the research object.There were four rainfall gradients,including a control and rainfall reductions of 30％,50％and 70％,each with three replications.The growth environment of mild,moderate and extreme drought was simulat-ed.On the basis of morphological characteristics,the main twig and leaf functional trait in different age class were studied.Results showed that:(1)A.ordosica could respond to drought stress by increasing leaf thickness,reducing the leaf number,increasing the twig cross-sectional area,reducing the twig length and increasing huber value.(2)Plants of different ages had natural differences in functional traits of twig and leaf.The leaf thickness,total leaf area,leaf number,twig cross-sectional area and twig length were significantly higher in older plants than in younger class.(3)A.ordosica has different responses to precipitation changes in different age class,and low-age A.ordosica mainly regulates specific leaf area,total leaf area,and leafing intensity under adversity.With the increase of age grade,the main regulating functional trait of A.ordosica was the huber value,and the drought resistance of A.ordosica was increased by increasing the potential of water supply from twigs to leaves.
Artemisia ordosicaage classdrought stressspecific leaf areahuber value
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