Abstract: In a pot experiment, Salix matsudana was subjected to the unshaded, partial shading and shading treatments.The growth and physiological features of its branches were compared under contrasting light environments (i.e., the branches of entirely grew under unshaded condition (Bhh), entirely grew under shading condition (Bll), grew under unshaded condition and connected to different branches under shading condition (Bhl), and grew under shading condition and connected to different branches under unshaded condition (Blh)). The results showed that the leaf natality and mortality were higher in Bhl and Bll than in Bhh and Blh, respectively. Shading had significant effects on net photosynthesis and night respiration rates of four types of branches. The branch biomass, total branch length, shoot biomass and shoot weight ratio were higher in Bhl than in Bhh, and conversely, the number of branches, branch biomass, leaf area, leaf biomass, basal diameter, total branch length, shoot biomass and shoot weight ratio were smaller in Blh than in Bll.

Key words: Salix matsudana, Shading, Growth and allocation, Physiological feature, Correlative inhibition, Physiological integration, high-throughput sequencing, gut bacteria community, 16S rRNA, Grapholitha molesta, Carposina sasakii