Advances in Ecological Adaptation of Plants to Drought Stress in Karst Regions

The complex and diverse geological structure and extremely high degree of karst development in karst areas have led to severe soil erosion and fragile ecological environment, and plants are often exposed to severe drought stress. In this paper, we analyse the adaptation mechanisms of plants to the karst drought environment in terms of their morphological characteristics such as roots, stems and leaves, photosynthetic characteristics, metabolism and hormone regulation. It is found that plants in this region often exhibit morphological characteristics such as well-developed roots, fleshy stems and thick leaves under drought stress; in addition, plants in this region can maintain normal plant growth by regulating stomata opening, metabolic pathways and regulating hormone concentrations. Here we propose to improve the drought resistance of plants in karst regions through the selection and breeding of good seeds, optimization of soil environment, chemical and microbial regulation, etc. We discuss the problems in the current research and propose future research prospects to deepen the understanding of the ecological adaptation mechanisms of plants under drought stress in karst regions, with a view to providing scientific basis for the ecological restoration of vegetation and the selection and breeding of drought-tolerant and drought-resistant plants in the region.