Effects of origin and water depth on morphology and reproductive modes of the submerged plant Vallisneria natans

Global Ecology and Conservation

Kaidi Guo¹  Liqin Zhong¹  Rasool Muhammad Awais¹  Rui Dong¹  Weikun Zeng¹  Xiaobo Zhang²  Dan Liu²  Peizhong Liu²  Cai Lu²  Yifei Jia²  Li Wen²  Guangchun Lei³ 

[1] School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, P.R. China;Center for East Asian-Australasian Flyway Studies, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, P.R. China;National Nature Reserve of West Dongting Lake, Hanshou, 415900, P.R. China;

关键词: Macrophytes;    Clonal and sexual reproduction;    Trade-offs;    Bayesian regression model;    Yangtze River;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

• The decline of submerged macrophytes in shallow lakes and wetlands has cascade effects on regional and global biodiversity. In the last two decades, the rapid disappear of macrophyte beds in the floodplain lakes of the middle lower Yangtze River has become a great concern for the ecological security of the region.• This study aims to quantify the effects of water depth on biomass production and clonal (i.e. stolons and winter buds) and sexual reproduction (i.e. fruits) of Vallisneria natans, a cosmopolitan, perennial submergent species.• Results of the research clearly demonstrated the unimodal relationship between biomass production and water depth, and there was an optimal range of 35–50 cm, beyond which total biomass decreased. Also, both clonal and sexual reproductive outputs decreased with water depth. Furthermore, for the first time, the study revealed the distinct reproduction patterns of the individuals originated from seeds and clonal propagules. While seed-generated plants produced significantly more fruits (and no winter buds), plants developed from clonal propagules produced more stolons and winter buds.• There findings plead further researches on V. natans seedling establishment and reproductive ecology because of the importance of winter buds as food for wintering waterbirds in the middle Yangtze floodplains.

【 授权许可】

Unknown