{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T16:06:44Z","timestamp":1791562004042,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]],"date-time":"2025-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754524800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["31960306"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["31960306"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The ongoing global climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and complexity of drought events. Pinus yunnanensis, a native tree species in southwest China that possesses significant ecological and economic value, exhibits a high sensitivity to drought stress, particularly in its seedlings. This study investigates the response mechanisms of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs, defined as the sum of soluble sugars and starch) and the stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) to repeated drought conditions in Pinus yunnanensis seedlings. We established three treatment groups in a potting water control experiment involving 2-year-old Pinus yunnanensis seedlings: normal water supply (CK), a single drought (D1), and three drought\u2013rewatering cycles (D3). The findings indicated that the frequency of drought occurrences, organ responses, and their interactions significantly influenced the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) content and its fractions, as well as the C\/N\/P content and its stoichiometric ratios. Under D3 treatment, stem NSC content increased by 24.97% and 29.08% compared to CK and D1 groups (p &lt; 0.05), respectively, while root NSC content increased by 41.35% and 49.46% versus CK and D1 (p &lt; 0.05). The pronounced accumulation of soluble sugars and starch in stems and roots under D3 suggests a potential stress memory effect. Additionally, NSC content in the stems increased significantly by 77.88%, while the roots enhanced their resource acquisition by dynamically regulating the C\/P ratio, which increased by 23.26% (p &lt; 0.05). Needle leaf C content decreased (18.77%) but P uptake increased (8%) to maintain basal metabolism (p &lt; 0.05). Seedling growth was N-limited (needle N\/P &lt; 14) and the degree of N limitation was exacerbated by repeated droughts. Phenotypic plasticity indices and principal component analysis revealed that needle nitrogen and phosphorus, soluble sugars in needles, stem C\/N ratio (0.61), root C\/N ratio (0.53), and stem C\/P ratio were crucial for drought adaptation. This study elucidates the physiological mechanisms underlying the resilience of Pinus yunnanensis seedlings to recurrent droughts, as evidenced by their organ-specific strategies for allocating carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, alongside the dynamic regulation of nitrogen storage compounds (NSCs). These findings provide a robust theoretical foundation for implementing drought-resistant afforestation and ecological restoration initiatives targeting Pinus yunnanensis in southwestern China.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14152448","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]],"date-time":"2025-08-07T12:15:40Z","timestamp":1754568940000},"page":"2448","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Drought\u2013Rewatering Cycles: Impact on Non-Structural Carbohydrates and C:N:P Stoichiometry in Pinus yunnanensis Seedlings"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Weisong","family":"Zhu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Southwest China, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuanxi","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Southwest China, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiqi","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Southwest China, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jialan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Southwest China, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junwen","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Southwest China, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6966","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1616608114","article-title":"New perspective on spring vegetation phenology and global climate change based on Tibetan Plateau tree-ring data","volume":"114","author":"Rahmede","year":"2017","journal-title":"Proc. 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