Tree Hydraulic Architecture and Drought Resilience: From Molecular Stress Responses to Climate-Adaptive Silviculture

Climate warming intensifies drought and nutrient limitation, triggering hydraulic failure, crown dieback, and carbon starvation in forest trees. Tree hydraulic architecture is the core physiological foundation regulating water transport, stress resistance, and the long-term survival of woody plants. At the same time, molecular and cellular responses — including stress genomics, phytohormone signaling, and biochemical adjustments — govern cellular resilience to drought and water deficits. Distinct sexual hydraulic differentiation is widespread in dioecious trees and is tightly coupled with nutrient uptake and carbon cycling. This Research Topic distinguishes itself from other collections by integrating molecular stress pathways with whole-tree hydraulic physiology and adaptive forest management.This Research Topic centers on tree hydraulic architecture and forest stress survival, with climate-adaptive silviculture as its practical application. It aims to reveal how hydraulic traits mediate growth and mortality under resource limitation, clarify sex-specific hydraulic divergence, and connect molecular stress-regulatory networks with whole-plant water–nutrient trade-offs. By combining molecular assays, physiological experiments, and long-term stand monitoring, this collection seeks to provide multi-scale mechanistic evidence for drought-resilient forest cultivation and to reduce carbon starvation risk in aging trees.Accepted manuscript types: Original Research, Mini Review, Review, Perspective.We welcome studies covering hydraulic architecture as a bridge between molecular stress genomics and tree survival; sex differentiation in hydraulic function; hydraulic–carbon balance in mature trees; the molecular basis of hydraulic failure under drought; and multi-scale physiological evidence guiding climate-adaptive silviculture and restoration. Multi-species, cross-climate, and multi-level (molecular–organismal–stand) comparative research is highly encouraged to highlight the uniqueness of this collection. Topic editors: Lidong Fang, Lixin Li Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84934/tree-hydraulic-architecture-and-drought-resilience-from-molecular-stress-responses-to-climate-adaptive-silviculture