Impacts of Defoliation on Morphological Characteristics and Non-Structural Carbohydrates of Populus talassica × Populus euphratica Seedlings

Leaves are important‘source’organs that synthesize organic matter,providing carbon sources for plant growth.Here,we used Populus talassica×Populus euphratica,the dominant species in ecological and timber forests,to simulate carbon limitation through artificial 25%,50%,and 75%defoliation treatments and explore the effects on root,stem,and leaf morphology,biomass accumulation,and carbon allocation strategies.At the 60th d after treat-ment,under 25%defoliation treatment,the plant height,specific leaf weight,root surface area and volume,and concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates in stem and root were significantly increased by 9.13%,20.00%,16.60%,31.95%,5.12%,and 9.34%,respectively,relative to the control.There was no significant change in the growth indicators under 50%defoliation treatment,but the concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates in the leaf and stem significantly decreased,showing mostly a negative correlation between them.The opposite was observed in the root.Under 75%defoliation treatment,the plant height,ground diameter,leaf number,single leaf area,root,stem,and total biomass were significantly reduced by 14.15%,10.24%,14.86%,11.31%,11.56%,21.87%,and 16.82%,respectively,relative to the control.The concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates in various organs were significantly reduced,particularly in the consumption of the starch concentrations in the stem and root.These results indicated that carbon allocation strategies can be adjusted to increase the con-centration of non-structural carbohydrates in root and meet plant growth needs under 25%and 50%defoliation.However,75%defoliation significantly limited the distribution of non-structural carbohydrates to roots and stems,reduced carbon storage,and thus inhibited plant growth.Defoliation-induced carbon limitation altered the carbon allocation pattern of P.talassica×P.euphratica,and the relationship between carbon reserves in roots and tree growth recovery after defoliation was greater.This study provides a theoretical basis for the comprehen-sive management of P.talassica×P.euphratica plantations,as well as a reference for the study of plantation car-bon allocation strategies in the desert and semi-desert regions of Xinjiang under carbon-limitation conditions.

Effects of pruning intensity on nonstructural carbohydrates of Populus alba×P.talassica in the arid desert region of Northwest China

Although pruning is important to obtain highquality,large-diameter timber,the effects of pruning on nonstructural carbohydrates(NSC)in aboveground organs of many timber species are not well understood.Three intensities of pruning(none,moderate and severe)were tested on poplars(Populus alba×P.talassica)in the arid desert region of northwest China to compare the concentrations of soluble sugar(SS),starch(ST)and total nonstructural carbohydrate(TNC)in leaves,branches and trunks during the growing season.The concentration of NSC components after different pruning intensities varied similarly in seasonal patterns,increasing slowly at the beginning of the growing season,continuously declining in the middle,then gradually recovering by the end of the growing season.The monthly mean NSC concentration in poplar differed significantly among the three pruning intensities(p<0.05).The SS concentration in pruned trees was higher than in unpruned trees(p<0.05).For moderately pruned trees,the concentrations of ST and TNC in trunks and branches were higher than in unpruned and in severely pruned trees(p<0.05).Compared with no pruning,pruning changed the seasonal variation in NSC concentration.The orders of SS and TNC concentrations in aboveground organs were leaf>branch>trunk,while the order of ST concentration was trunk>leaf>branch,which was related to functional differences of plant organs.The annual average growth in height of unpruned,moderately pruned,and severely pruned poplars was 0.21±0.06,0.45±0.09 and 0.24±0.05 m,respectively,and the annual average growth in DBH were 0.92±0.04,1.27±0.06 and 1.02±0.05 cm,respectively.Our results demonstrate that moderate pruning may effectively increase the annual growth in tree height and DBH while avoiding damage caused by excessive pruning to the tree body.Therefore,moderate pruning may increase the NSC storage and improve the growth of timber species.