Soil moisture imbalances — including both waterlogging and salinity — also influence dieback dynamics by altering root function. Waterlogged soils limit oxygen availability to roots, reducing respiration, nutrient uptake, and overall root health. Shisham has been shown to be sensitive to waterlogging, with growth and biomass production declining under fully saturated conditions in controlled studies, indicating that both low and excessive soil moisture can impair physiological performance. Soil salinity similarly imposes osmotic stress, reducing water uptake and disrupting ionic balance, which weakens trees and increases susceptibility to secondary pathogens or dieback progression. BMC Plant Biology research on D. sissoo under combined water deficit and salinity stress shows significant reductions in growth, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic rate, suggesting that salinity interacts with drought to compound abiotic stress. In forest ecosystems more broadly, salinization due to sea level rise and storm surge has been linked to coastal forest mortality, illustrating how soil chemistry changes can drive tree death independent of—or in combination with—pathogens.

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