Li Qun, Ma Min, Tang Yurui, Zhao Tingting, Zhao Chengzhang, Li Bo
College of Resources and Environment, Xichang University, Xichang 615013, China.
School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Jan 20;14(2):282. doi: 10.3390/plants14020282.
: The functional traits of twigs and leaves are closely related to the ability of plants to cope with heterogeneous environments. The analysis of the characteristics of twigs and leaves and leaf thermal dissipation in riparian plants is of great significance for exploring the light energy allocation and ecological adaptation strategies of plant leaves in heterogeneous habitats. However, there are few studies on the correlation between the twig-leaf characteristics of riparian plants and their heat dissipation in light heterogeneous environments. : In this study, the riparian plant in Taohe National Wetland Park was the research object. According to the differences in the canopy light environment of the population, three habitat gradients were set: I, the full sight zone; II, the moderate shade zone; and III, the canopy cover zone. We studied the relationship between the twig-leaf characteristics of and leaf thermal dissipation in a heterogeneous light environment. : The results are as follows: from the full sight zone to the canopy cover zone, the population characteristics and the twig, leaf, and photosynthetic fluorescence physiological characteristics of demonstrated significant changes ( < 0.05). In the full sight zone, tended to have thick leaves with a smaller SLA on short and thick twigs, and the light energy absorbed by the leaves accounted for a higher proportion of thermal dissipation. In the moderate shade zone, tended to grow many thin leaves with high SLA on long and thick twigs, and the proportion of light energy absorbed by the leaves for heat dissipation was lower than that in the full sight zone. In the canopy cover zone, tended to grow a few large and thick leaves with a low SLA on slender and long twigs, and the proportion of light energy absorbed by the leaves for heat dissipation was the lowest. There was a significant correlation between the twig-leaf and leaf heat dissipation of in the three habitats ( < 0.05). The co-variation of plant branches and leaves and the timely adjustment of thermal dissipation in photoheterogeneous habitats reflect the phenotypic plasticity mechanism and self-protection strategy of riparian plants in adapting to heterogeneous environments.
小枝和叶片的功能性状与植物应对异质环境的能力密切相关。分析河岸带植物小枝和叶片的特征以及叶片的热耗散情况，对于探究植物叶片在异质生境中的光能分配和生态适应策略具有重要意义。然而，关于河岸带植物小枝 - 叶片特征与其在光照异质环境下热耗散之间的相关性研究较少。
在本研究中，以洮河国家湿地公园的河岸带植物为研究对象。根据该种群冠层光照环境的差异，设置了三个生境梯度：I，全光照区；II，中度遮荫区；III，冠层覆盖区。我们研究了该植物在光照异质环境下小枝 - 叶片特征与叶片热耗散之间的关系。
从全光照区到冠层覆盖区，该植物的种群特征以及小枝、叶片和光合荧光生理特征均表现出显著变化（P < 0.05）。在全光照区，该植物倾向于在短而粗的小枝上长出厚叶，比叶面积较小，叶片吸收的光能中用于热耗散的比例较高。在中度遮荫区，该植物倾向于在长而粗的小枝上长出许多比叶面积高的薄叶，叶片吸收的光能用于热耗散的比例低于全光照区。在冠层覆盖区，该植物倾向于在细长的小枝上长出几片比叶面积低的大而厚的叶子，叶片吸收的光能用于热耗散的比例最低。该植物在三个生境中的小枝 - 叶片与叶片热耗散之间存在显著相关性（P < 0.05）。植物枝叶的协同变化以及在光照异质生境中热耗散的及时调整，反映了河岸带植物适应异质环境的表型可塑性机制和自我保护策略。
