摘要
Under current climate warming, the growth resilience of plantation forests after extreme droughts has garnered increasing attention. Platycladus orientalis Linn. is an evergreen tree species commonly used for afforestation, and the stability of P. orientalis plantation forests in the Loess Hilly region directly affects the ecological and environmental security of the entire Loess Plateau of China.However, systematic analyses of the growth resilience of P. orientalis plantation forests after extreme droughts along precipitation gradients remain scarce. In this study, we collected tree ring samples of P.orientalis along a precipitation gradient(255, 400, and 517 mm) from 2021 to 2023 and used dendroecological methods to explore the growth resilience of P. orientalis to drought stress on the Loess Plateau. Our findings revealed that the growth resilience of P. orientalis increased with increasing precipitation, enabling the trees to recover to the pre-drought growth levels. In regions with low precipitation(255 mm), the plantation forests were more sensitive to extreme droughts, struggling to recover to previous growth levels, necessitating conditional artificial irrigation. In regions with medium precipitation(400 mm), the growth of P. orientalis was significantly limited by drought stress and exhibited some recovery ability after extreme droughts, therefore warranting management through rainwater harvesting and conservation measures. Conversely, in regions with high precipitation(517 mm), the impacts of extreme droughts on P. orientalis plantation forests were relatively minor. This study underscored the need for targeted strategies tailored to different precipitation conditions rather than a "one-size-fits-all" approach to utilize precipitation resources effectively and maximize the ecological benefits of plantation forests. The findings will help maintain the stability of plantation forests and improve their ecosystem service functions in arid and semi-arid areas.
基金
funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42071047)
Innovation Fund Project for College Teachers in Gansu Province (2025A-008)
Research Capability Enhancement Plan for Young Teachers at Northwest Normal University (NWNU-LKQN2024-19)
Basic Research Innovation Group Project of Gansu Province (22JR5RA129)。
