Leaf Habit Drives Divergent Leaf Hydraulic Strategies in Gardening Trees From a Subtropical City in China.

Authors

Ming-Hui Xie, Ying-Ying Zhang, Xue Zhou, Ting Wang, Ya-Hao Ge, Ming-Zhi Luo, Shi-Jian Yang, Wen Guo, Ya Zhang

Published in

Physiologia plantarum. Volume 178. Issue 3. Pages e70970.

Abstract

Leaf hydraulics are crucial for understanding plant water use, yet the leaf hydraulic traits of gardening trees remain poorly quantified compared to forest trees. In this study, we investigated leaf hydraulic conductivity, vulnerability, and petiole anatomy in four evergreen and three deciduous tree species in a subtropical Chinese city with a monsoon climate. We found that deciduous trees exhibited an acquisitive strategy characterized by higher leaf maximum hydraulic conductivity (K_leaf-max) but lower leaf water potential at 50% xylem embolism (P_50-leaf) and a narrower hydraulic safety margin (HSM). In contrast, evergreen trees displayed a more conservative strategy with lower K_leaf-max but higher P_50-leaf and a wider HSM. Despite overlap in leaf anatomical and structural traits between the groups, we found K_leaf-max was positively related to P_50-leaf, minor vein density, and vessel diameter, yet negatively correlated with HSM, distance between minor veins, and vessel wall reinforcement. This pattern underscores a fundamental trade-off between hydraulic efficiency, safety, and xylem mechanical strength. Our findings highlight a pronounced leaf habit-driven divergence in leaf hydraulic strategies in subtropical China, providing a physiological basis for tree species selection and management.

PMID:
42322173
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 20 Jun 2026.

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