Drought Intensity, Timing, and Reproductive Strategy Drive Submerged Macrophyte Resilience

Extreme droughts are projected to become more frequent and severe under climate change, posing significant risks to wetland ecosystems and submerged macrophyte communities. We combined field surveys in West Dongting Lake, China, combined with controlled greenhouse experiments to examine how drought intensity (expressed as contrasting soil moisture conditions during drought) and drought timing affect submerged macrophyte species richness, biomass, as well as resilience, mediated through species response in their reproductive strategies. Field observations revealed a sharp decline in clonal species (<i>Hydrilla verticillata</i>, <i>Ceratophyllum demersum</i>, <i>Vallisneria spinulosa</i>) following an extreme drought, while the sexual species <i>Najas marina</i> emerged as dominant. Greenhouse experiments confirmed these patterns and elucidated underlying mechanisms: extreme drought suppressed biomass, leaf area, and seedling re-germination in clonal species, whereas <i>N. marina</i> maintained regeneration via a persistent soil seed bank. Moderate drought enhanced leaf area, consistent with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, while early drawdowns were most detrimental to growth. Species-specific responses highlight the role of reproductive strategy in drought resilience. These findings underscore the need for climate-adaptive water-level management, including limiting early drawdowns, mitigating extreme drought, and conserving seed banks to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem function under increasing hydroclimatic variability.