Effects of Environmental Disturbance on Leaf Morphological Traits, Stomata, and Water Use Efficiency of Species for Afforestation on a Windward Slope in a Coastal Zone

Vegetation restoration on windward slopes plays a crucial role in recovering dama-ged coastal zone systems.This study was conducted on the wind disturbed windward slope of Wugui mountain(300 m),Zhongshan City,Guangdong province.Wind may have negative effects on plant morphological and physiological features.Therefore,it is necessary to study whether species are acclimatized to windward slopes.In this study,five species was selected,Castanopsis hystrix,Mytilaria laosensis,Gmelina arborea,Acronychia pedunculata,Schefflera octophylla.C.hystrix,M.laosensis and G.arborea,were transplanted four or five years ago,while A.pedunculata and S.octophylla are native species.Stomatal parameters,leaf anatomic structure,photosynthesis and water use efficiency(WUE)of these species were studied.The results showed that(1)there were no significant differences in leaf anatomic structures and stomatal density among all species in windward and leeward slopes,while the stomatal size and the density of all five species,except for C.hystrix,also showed no significant differences;(2)WUE of the planted species,C.hystrix and G.arborea,decreased on windward slope compared with that on the leeward slope,while native plants,A.pedunculata and S.octophylla had increased WUE on the windward slope and M.laosensis grew well on the windward slope;(3)In terms of responses to phenotypic plasticity,photosynthesis performance of leaves and potential water stress of the five plant species showed significant inter-species differences.