Optimizing stand density enhances tree drought adaptability in forest plantations

To determine the optimal stand density for plantations with strong drought adaptability, we used tree ring data obtained by sampling trees from five black locust plantations, with stand densities ranged from 1000 to 2300 trees/ha in the Zhifanggou watershed on the Loess Plateau (LP). Our research hypothesize that: 1 higher stand density increases tree drought sensitivity. 2 Tree drought adaptability decreases with increasing stand density. 3 Stand density influences tree drought adaptability primarily through soil water content and competition.
We shared tree ring width data, the diameter at breast height, and competition index data for five stand densities. The tree ring width data is uploaded in .txt format （Named with different densities）, while other data is uploaded in Excel format （ Named as share data） .