Journal
FLORA
Volume 213, Issue -, Pages 49-56Publisher
ELSEVIER GMBH, URBAN & FISCHER VERLAG
DOI: 10.1016/j.flora.2015.04.006
Keywords
Guerilla growth form; Phalanx growth form; Resource heterogeneity; Selective placement of ramets; Clonal foraging
Categories
Funding
- 12th Five-Year Plan of the National Scientific and Technological Support Projects [2012BAD16B03]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [30900179]
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Essential resources for plant growth are always heterogeneously distributed in natural ecosystems. Clonal plants can selectively place ramets in resource-rich patches to efficiently use heterogeneously distributed resources by altering spacer performance. Leymus secalinus, with a combination of phalanx and guerilla growth forms, can produce both spreading and clumping ramets. Previous studies have shown that nutrient availability decreases the proportion of spreading ramets. It was hypothesized that L. secalinus could place more ramets in resource-rich patches by producing more clumping ramets. To test this hypothesis, L secalinus was grown under artificial conditions with heterogeneously distributed nutrients and light. Results showed that L. secalinus not only altered the spacer length and specific spacer biomass between spreading ramets, but also balanced the trade-off between phalanx and guerilla growth forms to place more ramets in resource-rich patches, even if the patches were very small. Such multiple adaptations by L. secalinus, together with a division of labor, may enable it to efficiently use heterogeneous resources in natural ecosystems and to subsequently change the localized environment. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
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