compensate for higher reproductive

compensate for higher reproductive costs, females might be more efficient than males in photosynthesis and water use (Tognetti 2012, Hultine et al. 2016). However, studies that contrast hydraulic response of females and males are rare. One study of the dioecious tree species Juniperus thurifera L. (evergreen conifer) showed that females have a greater hydraulic efficiency than males (Olano et al. 2017). Compared to evergreen trees, deciduous species usually have a higher growth rate, resulting in more susceptibility to warming-induced responses in growth (Way and Oren 2010, Dusenge et al. 2020). To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the impact of warming on hydraulic conductance of dioecious deciduous trees. Populus cathayana Rehd. is a fast-growing, dioecious tree that is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere. During recent decades, this species’ geographic range has experienced high summer temperatures, which results in