In a girdled plant, when water is supplied to the leaves above the girdle, leaves may remain green for sometime then wilt and ultimately die. What does it indicate?

Girdling is the complete removal of a bark strip around the entire circumference of a trunk of a tree. In a girdled plant, when water is supplied to the leaves above the girdle, leaves may remain green for sometime because leaves have the capability of synthesizing their own food by photosynthesis using water and CO2 from air. But will eventually die because water will slowly be unavailable thus no photosynthesis can occur.