High-altitude regions offer outstanding opportunities for investigating the impacts of combined abiotic stresses on plant physiological processes given their significant differences in terms of the ecological environment in high-elevation areas, low anthropogenic disturbance, and obvious distribution characteristics of plants along altitudinal gradients. Therefore, plants in high-altitude areas can be used as good targets for exploring plant adaptations to abiotic stress under extreme conditions. Plants that thrive in high-altitude environments such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau endure extreme abiotic stresses, including low temperatures, high UV radiation, and nutrient-poor soils. This study explores their adaptation mechanisms via phenotypic variation analyses and multiomics approaches. Key findings highlight traits such as increased photosynthetic efficiency, robust antioxidant systems, and morphological modifications tailored to high-altitude conditions. These insights advance our understanding of plant evolution in harsh environments and inform strategies to increase stress resistance in crops.

As key species for ecological restoration, Salix spp. thrive in harsh environments, including high-altitude regions, arid zones, and saline–alkaline soils, demonstrating remarkable resilience to abiotic stressors. Recent advances in genomics, transcriptomics, and functional gene research have shed light on the mechanisms underlying Salix species’ responses to drought, salinity, heavy metals, and low-temperature stresses. This review systematically synthesizes the physiological, biochemical, and molecular adaptations of Salix to abiotic stress, with a particular focus on underexplored areas such as sex-dimorphic regulation and integrated hormone-ROS signaling pathways. We emphasize the dynamic interplay between transcription factors, hormonal crosstalk, and ROS signaling that underpins the stress response, highlighting sex-specific variations that modulate adaptive capacity. Moreover, we discuss the synergistic roles of exogenous additives and rhizosphere microorganisms in enhancing stress resistance. This comprehensive analysis provides critical insights for breeding stress-resilient Salix cultivars and for future research into stress adaptation mechanisms in woody plants.