Authors : Farkhanda Naz, Zhongxun Yuan, Hadi Erfani, Li Changxiao
DOI : 10.1111/pce.70658
Volume : 49
Issue : 7
Year : 2026
Page No : 3500-3564
ABSTRACT Flooding stress associated with climate variability requires a better understanding of adaptive plant responses and their regulation in flood‐prone systems. This study examines whether dose‐dependent modulation of Ca 2+ /ROS‐associated processes influences root porosity and biomass responses in Cynodon dactylon under flooding‐related stress. Systematic modulation of Ca 2+ ‐ROS‐associated processes was examined using CaCl 2 , 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole (AT), EGTA, and diphenylene iodonium. The core novelty lies in translating biological signalling into an actionable bioprocess optimisation framework using Hill/EMAX dose – response modelling and benchmark dose (BMD) analysis. This methodology defined precise efficacy – safety windows for chemical application. Principal results demonstrate that low doses of CaCl 2 and the ROS inducer AT significantly enhanced root porosity without compromising biomass. Critically, the BMD porosity+10 (required dose for 10% porosity gain) was robustly positioned to the left of BMD biomass‐10 (dose causing 10% growth penalty), confirming a safe and effective operational zone. These results provide a quantitative basis for future validation of dose‐dependent Ca 2+ /ROS modulation under more complex environmental conditions.