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. 2026 Jul 28;17:1887737. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2026.1887737

Figure 8.

Structural equation model diagram illustrating the pathways from stress factors (drought at three concentrations and salinity stress at three concentrations) to physiological and growth responses (growth traits, water traits, antioxidant system), and then to final outcomes (seed germination, aboveground dry weight). Blue arrows represent significant positive effects, red arrows indicate significant negative effects, and dashed grey lines denote non-significant relationships, along with correlation coefficients, significance levels, and R-squared values for each outcome.

Structural equation model showing potential associations among drought stress, salinity stress, seed germination, and aboveground dry weight in alfalfa. Drought stress and salinity stress were included as exogenous variables, while growth traits, water traits, and the antioxidant system were included as intermediate variables. Seed germination and aboveground dry weight were used as final response variables. Seed germination was represented by vigor index selected based on the coefficient of variation. Blue arrows indicate positive paths, orange arrows indicate negative paths, purple arrows indicate marginally significant paths, and gray dashed arrows indicate non-significant paths. Values beside arrows are standardized path coefficients. R² values indicate the proportion of variance explained for endogenous variables. Significance levels are denoted as † P < 0.10, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001. Model fit: χ²/df = 1.83; RMSEA = 0.043; CFI = 0.961; SRMR = 0.036.