Stable hydraulic conductivity in forest trees maintains the survival of trees which contribute to productivity in forest ecosystems. Drought conditions break down this relationship, but the mechanisms are poorly known. To increase the understanding of the mechanism of hydraulic characteristics during drought, we determined hydraulic parameters in Populus euphratica Oliv. (P. euphratica) in a time-series of drought using a high-pressure flow meter. We found that P. euphratica could enhance hydraulic transport in severe drought stress under a threshold of soil water content. Drought-induced loss of hydraulic conductance could seriously impair water transport capacity. The soil water content of about 4.5% in the rhizosphere could lead to canopy mortality yet maintain live roots. Hydraulic conductance could be changed under drought stress as a consequence of changes in the anatomical structure and physiology. Furthermore, there was also a trade-off between hydraulic efficiency and safety. The consideration of hydraulic efficiency was first within the range of hydraulic safety limit. Once the hydraulic safety limit was reached, safety would be taken as the first consideration and hydraulic efficiency would be reduced. Research on the mechanism of hydraulic properties in riparian plants in arid areas provides a scientific basis for riparian forest restoration.

Stable hydraulic conductivity in forest trees maintains healthy tree crowns and contributes to productivity in forest ecosystems. Drought conditions break down this relationship, but the mechanisms are poorly known and may depend on drought severity. To increase the understanding of changes in hydraulic conductivity during drought, we determined hydraulic parameters in Populus euphratica Oliv. (P. euphratica) in naturally arid conditions and in a simulated severe drought using a high-pressure flow meter. The results showed that leaf-specific hydraulic conductance (LSC) of leaf blades was less variable in mild drought, and increased significantly in severe drought. Plants attempted to maintain stability in leaf blade LSC under moderate water stress. In extreme drought, LSC was enhanced by increasing hydraulic conductance in plant parts with less hydraulic limitation, decreasing it in other parts, and decreasing leaf area; this mechanism protected the integrity of water transport in portions of tree crowns, and induced scorched branches and partial mortality in other parts of crowns. We conclude that limitation in water supply and elastic regulation of hydraulic characteristics may drive the mortality of tree branches as a result of severe drought. Evaluation of adaptive water transport capacity in riparian plants in arid areas provides a scientific basis for riparian forest restoration.

The Malian River Basin is the Longdong grain elevator and a new oil and energy base of East Gansu Province. Limited water resources programming utilization is a key for the development of the socio-economic and energy industry, as well as the improvement of the ecological environment. An analytical framework for assessing socioeconomic development, rational allocation of water resources, and guiding policy development is proposed in this study. A decision tree method was used in the risk analysis and was improved by introducing the expert advisory probabilistic method into the sensitivity analysis to reduce cognitive bias. A large-system multi-objective model was developed to solve the problem of the rational allocation of available water resources and for benefit maximization among water users. The Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) method was used to generate a solution. The water supply amount within the basin was 8.69 × 10⁸ m³ and the water shortage rate was 15.90%. The optimization model method had better distribution results than the weights method without new water supply. Through the model method results, the water saving potential was found and the related policies were proposed. The framework and methods can further provide a reference for both the planning of water resources and the formulation of regulatory policies and will greatly alleviate water crises in semi-arid areas.

Water relations in plants maintain healthy tree branches and drought conditions during plant growth may affect water relations, but the mechanisms are poorly known. In our study, we determined the stomatal conductance, hydraulic conductance, water potential and ion concentration of xylem sap to increase the understanding of changes in water relations in branches of Populus euphratica (P. euphratica) and Tamarix ramosissima (T. ramosissima), which are the dominant plant species in the lower reaches of the Heihe River Basin in China. The results showed that both species responded to vapor pressure deficit (VPD) during the growing season by adjusting stomatal conductance to achieve homeostasis in leaf water potentials. The leaf-specific hydraulic conductance (LSC) of the branch was determined using water status in the branch, and the LSC of the leaf was determined using water status in the leaf. Because of homeostasis in leaf water potentials, hydraulic conductance in leaves remained stable. As a result, branch dieback, which might be induced by deficits in water supply, could rarely be seen in T. ramosissima owing to the homeostasis in branch and leaf water status. The ion sensitivity of xylem hydraulic conductance in P. euphratica induced an increase in hydraulic conductance caused by the deficits in the water supply which might lead to branch dieback. The evaluation of water relations provides a further understanding of the internal mechanisms of drought acclimation for riparian plants.

In the published article [1], the authors realized some errors in the second affiliation and thus wish to make the revisions as below: Change the Affiliation 2 “Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China” to “University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China”