申请人揭示了柠条锦鸡儿采食破坏后的补偿效应和机制，平茬后的再生高生长水力限制机制，锦鸡儿属植物的水分利用策略，鹰嘴豆水控条件下的补偿效应及落花机制。在Tree Physiology、Journal of Experimental Botany、Annals of Botany、Trees等SCI期刊发表论文17篇，第一作者9篇(4篇兼通讯)，CSCD 期刊发表13篇，SCI期刊他引90次，单篇最高他引20余次；受理仪器发明专利2项。2008获得澳大利亚政府“奋进奖学金”，2011年入选教育部“新世纪优秀人才支持计划”。本项目拟以石松类、蕨类、裸子和被子植物为材料，确认干旱胁迫和复水过程中沿植物进化类型气孔调控行为的分化模式以及水分利用效率增加幅度的适应性进化规律，从水分利用策略的角度对植物进化类型依次替代的机制进行认识，也从水分利用效率提高的方向为丰富植物育种体系奠定理论基础。

Plants that grow in environments where high levels of herbivory and water deficit are normal evolve compensatory mechanisms as a way to maximize fitness. Investigation of mechanisms and utilization of compensatory traits will play an important role in sustainable development for forest and agriculture in arid and semiarid areas. Applicant has used Caragana species, and Cicer arietinum L. as materials and revealed Caragana korshinskii compensatory ability, compensatory mechanisms and strategies to response to simulated herbivory, mechanisms slowing Caragana korshinskii resprout height growth, the divergence in water-use strategies among Caragana species and Cicer arietinum L. compensatory ability and mechanisms underlying flower abortion following an early transient water deficit. 17 papers have been published in SCI journals, such as in Tree Physiology, Journal of Experimental Botany, Annals of Botany, et al，and 13 papers have been published in CSCD journals. Citations of papers by others is 90 times in total, and maximum citations of one paper is 20 times. Applicant have been awarded an ‘Endeavour Scholarship’ by Australian Government in 2008, and become a member of ‘the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University’ in 2011. This project will use lycophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms as materials to investigate the differentiation of stomatal regulation under water stress and recovery and amplitude of water-use efficiency among above species along the evolutionary scale, which will serve for understanding the mechanisms underlying the replacement from lycophytes and ferns to angiosperms from the water physiology perspective，and serve as foundation for breeding germplasm resources to increase water-use efficiency.

项目以不同进化类型的维管束植物为材料，从气孔调节的角度研究了被子植物和裸子植物替代蕨类植物的生理生态学机制。结果表明：(1)在可变光强下，裸子植物和被子植物的气孔对光强反应敏感，液泡碎化参与了气孔的关闭，植物的水分利用效率高，而蕨类植物气孔对光反应迟钝，液泡碎化程度小，植物的水分利用效率低。(2)施加外源ABA后，被子植物气孔关闭迅速，裸子植物气孔关闭缓慢，而蕨类植物气孔没有关闭。机制为被子植物和裸子植物中ABA能诱导保卫细胞产生H2O2，H2O2诱导保卫细胞产生NO，保卫细胞膜离子通道启动，Ca2+内流，K+外排，细胞渗透势上升(负值)，细胞失水，气孔关闭，伴随着细胞微丝骨架解聚，液泡碎化。而蕨类植物中ABA诱导保卫细胞产生了H2O2，但H2O2不能诱导保卫细胞产生NO，即使加NO供体，细胞膜离子通道仍不能启动，Ca2+内流和K+外排维持不变，渗透势不变，气孔没有关闭，细胞微丝骨架和液泡也维持不变；证实蕨类植物中ABA诱导气孔关闭的通路没有形成，或形成后发生了缺失。(3)干旱过程和复水过程中，裸子植物比蕨类植物进化出更有效的气孔调控行为和高效的水分利用效率。(4)在不同降水模式的旱生生境中，被子植物进化出了衡水和变水适应性策略；干旱胁迫中渗透物质积累能力的强弱，ABA和乙烯累积类型的分化(R-型和S-型)是其水分利用策略分化的基础；干旱复水后叶乙烯含量，而非ABA含量，是制约植物光合恢复能力的关键因素。(5)研制出两套植物水分传导测定仪器有力支撑了上述研究的开展。结果对被子植物和裸子植物替代蕨类植物从水分利用策略的角度提出了丰富的理论解释，也为从提高水分利用效率的方向丰富植物育种体系奠定了理论基础。