Morphological and physiological responses of Heteropogon contortus to drought stress in a dry-hot valley

摘要

Background Heteropogon contortus is a valuable pasture species that is widely used for vegetation restoration in dry-hot valleys of China. However, to date, its morphological and physiological responses to drought, and the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. This study was aimed to investigate the morphological and physiological changes of H. contortus under drought stress during the dry-hot season. Heteropogon contortus was planted in pots and subjected to four levels of soil water treatments: above 85 % (control), 70–75 % (light stress), 55–60 % (moderate stress) or 35–40 % (severe stress) of field capacity.