Abstract:【Objective】 Revealing the regional differentiation of common species Populus alba on different environmental adaptation strategies can provide data support for predicting plant adaptation potential under the background of climate change. 【Methods】 Nine state-owned forest farms were selected along the precipitation gradient from southeast to northwest China, and 18 functional traits related to water and carbon of the common species Populus alba were measured. The methods of trait network and principal component analysis were used to quantify the regional differentiation of traits, and to clarify the main climatic factors driving the variation of traits and their habitat adaptation strategies. 【Results】 (1) The average coefficient of variation of each trait was 12.09%-60.35%, and the variation level of photosynthetic physiology and stomatal related traits was generally higher than that of other traits. (2) The importance percentage of photosyntetically active radiation, growing season mean temperature, annual mean precipitation and aridity index on trait variation were 35.45%, 28.37%, 19.36% and 16.93%, respectively. Among them, photosyntetically active radiation in the growing season was the most important climatic factor driving trait variation. (3) The central trait of the trait network was the maximum net photosynthetic rate.【Conclusion】 There were differences in the adaptation strategies of P.alba in the precipitation gradient. From the humid/semi-humid region to the arid region, its carbon economy strategy changed from a relatively conservative type to an acquisition type.