A meta-analysis of leaf gas exchange and water status responses to drought

Abstract Drought is considered to be one of the most devastating natural hazards, and it is predicted to become increasingly frequent and severe in the future. Understanding the plant gas exchange and water status response to drought is very important with regard to future climate change. We conducted a meta-analysis based on studies of plants worldwide and aimed to determine the changes in gas exchange and water status under different drought intensities (mild, moderate and severe), different photosynthetic pathways (C 3 and C 4 ) and growth forms (herbs, shrubs, trees and lianas). Our results were as follows: 1) drought negatively impacted gas exchange and water status, and stomatal conductance (g s ) decreased more than other physiological traits and declined to the greatest extent in shrubs and C 3 plants. Furthermore, C 4 plants had an advantage compared to C 3 plants under the same drought conditions. 2) The decrease in g s mainly reduced the transpiration rate (T r ), and g s could explain 55% of the decrease in the photosynthesis ( A ) and 74% of the decline in T r . 3). Finally, gas exchange showed a close relationship with the leaf water status. Our study provides comprehensive information about the changes in plant gas exchange and water status under drought.