Abstract: To investigate the responses of carbon and nutrients in leaves during regeneration of Alhagi camelorum following root severance, a field experiment was conducted at the southern margin of the Taklimakan Desert. There were three treatments, including natural growth without disturbance (CK), root severance without rewatering (DG), and root severance followed by rewatering (DW). Leaf soluble sugar and starch contents, together with carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) contents were measured at different time intervals after root severance. We analyzed variations in non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and the stoichiometric ratios of C, N, and P throughout the regeneration process, and examined the correlations of those nutrients. The results showed that during the early stage after root severance (days 1-3), the starch and NSC contents in the leaves under both DG and DW treatments significantly decreased, while the soluble sugar/starch ratio increased. The C, N, P, and K contents remained stable. In the mid-stage (days 5-10), the contents of NSC and its components tended to stabilize under DG treatment, whereas N and P contents showed a decreasing trend under DW treatment. In the late stage (days 25-50), new shoot sprouted from A. camelorum in the DW treatment, and the soluble sugar, N, P, and K contents in the leaves decreased significantly, accompanied by increases in N∶P, C∶N, and C∶P ratios, indicating pronounced nutrient resorption from senescing leaves to new shoots. Under DW treatment, leaf NSC content was significantly and positively correlated with C, N, and K contents, indicating the synergistic coupling among NSC and key nutrients during A. camelorum regeneration. These findings suggest that under root severance with subsequent rewatering, soluble sugars together with N, P, and K stored in the old leaves can be actively remobilized to support the growth of new shoots. The results provide a theoretical basis for vegetation restoration strategies involving root severance-based transplantation of A. camelorum.

Key words: root severance, rewatering, non-structural carbohydrates, stoichiometric characteristics, Alhagi camelorum