Lead alters the tolerance of dominant woody plants in subtropical coastal zones to flash drought

Yuankai Yi; Zhongyu Sun; Shike Zhang; Long Wei; Jing Liu; Nan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117959

Lead alters the tolerance of dominant woody plants in subtropical coastal zones to flash drought

Mar Pollut Bull. 2025 Jul:216:117959. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117959. Epub 2025 Apr 14.

Authors

Yuankai Yi¹, Zhongyu Sun², Shike Zhang³, Long Wei⁴, Jing Liu⁵, Nan Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² The Greater Bay Area Urban Agglomeration Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510070, China.
³ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
⁴ Guangdong Coastal Shelterbelt Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Seed Innovation, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
⁶ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China. Electronic address: liunan@scbg.ac.cn.

PMID: 40233584
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117959

Abstract

Under the influence of climate change and human activities, drought and heavy metal pollution are increasingly threatening the stability of coastal regions. In this study, the ecophysiological responses of three representative coastal plant species (Hibiscus tiliaceus, Barringtonia racemosa, and Terminalia neotaliala) in subtropical regions to lead addition (Pb), drought stress (D), their co-existence (Pb + D), and control (CK) were investigated. The results showed that, compared to CK, Pb treatment alone did not significantly affect plant growth during the experiment, which lasted for 8 days. In contrast, both D and Pb + D treatment caused a notable negative impact, with significant increases in abscisic acid (ABA), proline (PRO), and superoxide anion (O₂^-) levels and a significant decrease in net photosynthetic rates (P_n). In addition to the comparison with CK, we also observed a distinction between the effects of Pb + D treatment and those of either Pb treatment or D treatment. With Pb + D treatment, Pb accumulation in the roots and leaves of H. tiliaceus and B. racemosa and in the roots of T. neotaliala was higher than those with Pb treatment alone. Other than that, the negative impacts in growth of Pb + D treatment appeared to be delayed compared to the D treatment alone. Moreover, B. racemosa demonstrated good tolerance to Pb, drought and their co-existence treatments, indicating its potential for use in coastal vegetation restoration to enhance ecosystem resilience and stability in subtropical regions.

Keywords: Global climate change; Industrial hazards; Morphological traits; Physiological indicators.

MeSH terms

Climate Change
Droughts*
Lead* / toxicity
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / toxicity

Substances

Lead
Water Pollutants, Chemical