ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1646842
This article is part of the Research TopicBiochemical and Physiological Insights into Plant Adaptation and Resilience Under Abiotic StressesView all 8 articles
Adaptation Strategies of Cunninghamia lanceolata Seedlings to Light Intensity Gradients Based on Morpho-Physiological Trade-offs
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, China
- 2Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- 3Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
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Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook is a high-quality, fast growing plantation-tree species widely distributed in southern China, and a commercial timber species unique to China that plays a vital role in meeting wood demand and maintaining ecological security. Although the morphological and physiological adaptations of C. lanceolata seedlings to light stress have been extensively documented separately, their interplay remains a critical gap in our knowledge and understanding of plant ecophysiology. Particularly, the synergistic mechanisms between phenotypic adaptations and metabolic regulation remain unclear. This study investigated the coordinated morphological and physiological responses of 1-year-old, clonal, C. lanceolata seedlings to varying light intensities (100%, 68%, 27%, 12%, and 5%). The data showed that: (1) Under decreasing light intensity, seedling height to diameter ratio and specific leaf area were 30.10% and 64.38% greater than of those recorded under 100% light intensity. The observed changes in growth maximized light capture capacity. Further, root growth, root to shoot ratio, and seedling quality index decreased with decreasing light intensity. (2) Leaf non-structural carbohydrate contents decreased significantly, along with key carbohydrate-metabolizing enzyme activities, and leaf carbon∶nitrogen and carbon∶phosphorus ratios. (3) High light intensities increased cytokinin and abscisic acid contents, whereas the lowest (5%) light intensity tested enhanced the accumulation of gibberellin, but had no significant effect on indoleacetic acid content. These results indicate that C. lanceolata seedlings used a dual adaptation strategy that combined “photoprotection under high light intensity” with “efficient resource utilization under low light intensity” through coordinated morphological and physiological adjustments. Our study provides a scientific basis for managing nursery light conditions and plantation light environment during early development of C. lanceolata seedlings. Specifically, we recommend a 68% light intensity for optimal seedling production.
Keywords: Plantation, Morphological plasticity, Physiological adjustments, non-structuralcarbohydrates, Light
Received: 14 Jun 2025; Accepted: 03 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Huang, Zou, Ma and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhijun Huang, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, China
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