简介:Leafshapesarenotonlytheusefulindicatorsinplanttaxonomy,butalsotheimportantfactorsaffectingenergyandmaterialexchangeinleaves.Inthispaper,wecollectedandscannedtheleavesofNitrariatangutoruminDengkouofInnerMongoliaAutonomousRegion(themeanannualprecipitation145mm)andMinqinofGansuProvince(themeanannualprecipitation115mm)andN.sphaerocarpainDunhuang,andthenanalyzedleafshapeparameterswithImage-ProPlus6.0imageprocessingsoftwareandleafδ13CvaluesintheisotopelaboratoryoftheChineseAcademyofForestry.Theresultshowedthat:1)asleafareaincreasedwithincreasingwateravailabilitytheincreasesintheleaflengthandwidthwereasynchronously;2)withthesameleafwidth,the1eavesofN.tangutorumandN.sphaerocarpaweresignificantlylongerinhighwateravailableconditions;and3)althoughthereweresignificantlydifferencesinwateravailabilitybetweenDengkouandMinqin,aswellasbetweenthebottomandmiddleofthealluvialfanneartheEastLakeinDunhuang,theleafδ13CvaluesofN.tangutorumorN.sphaerocarpaweresimilarindifferentwaterconditions(P>0.05).Ourresultssuggestedthattheratioofleafperimetertoareawouldbeanimportantfactorwhichlinkedleafshapetoplantwaterphysiology.Duringgrowingprocedureofleafarea,leaflengthincreasewaspriortoitswidthtoalleviatethereductioninratioofperimetertoareaandmaintainwateruseefficiencyoftheplant.