Assessing leaf physiological traits in response to flooding among dominant riparian herbs along the Three Gorges Dam in China

Abstract

Dams worldwide have significantly altered the composition of riparian forests. However, research on the functional traits of dominant herbs experiencing flooding stress due to dam impoundment remains limited. Given the high plasticity of leaf traits and their susceptibility to environmental influences, this study focuses on riparian herbs along the Three Gorges Hydro‐Fluctuation Zone (TGHFZ). Specifically, it investigates how six leaf physiological traits of leading herbs—carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and their stoichiometric ratios—adapt to periodic flooding in the TGHFZ using cluster analysis, one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA), multiple comparisons, Pearson correlation analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA). We categorized 25 dominant herb species into three plant functional types (PFTs), noting that species from the same family tended to fall into the same PFT. Notably, leaf carbon content (LCC) exhibited no significant differences across various PFTs or altitudes. Within riparian forests, different PFTs employ distinct adaptation strategies: PFT‐I herbs invest in structural components to enhance stress resistance; PFT‐II, mostly comprising gramineous plants, responds to prolonged flooding by rapid growth above the water; and PFT‐III, encompassing nearly all Compositae and annual plants, responds to prolonged flooding with vigorous rhizome growth and seed production. Soil water content (SWC) emerges as the primary environmental factor influencing dominant herb growth in the TGHFZ. By studying the response of leaf physiological traits in dominant plants to artificial flooding, we intend to reveal the survival mechanisms of plants under adverse conditions and lay the foundation for vegetation restoration in the TGHFZ.