Arid Zone Research ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (2): 541-550.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2022.02.21

• Plant and Plant Physiology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Biomass allocation patterns of an ephemeral species (Erodium oxyrhinchum) in different habitats and germination types in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

ZHANG Yuanyuan1,2(),MENG Huanhuan1,2,ZHOU Xiaobing2,YIN Benfeng2,ZHOU Duoqi1,TAO Ye2()   

  1. 1. Anhui Province Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui, College of Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246133, Anhui, China
    2. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2021-08-15 Revised:2021-11-13 Online:2022-03-15 Published:2022-03-30
  • Contact: Ye TAO E-mail:3501327801@qq.com;xishanyeren@163.com

Abstract:

Ephemeral plants are an important plant group in desert ecosystems; they have diverse habitats, and many species also have isochronous germination characteristics. The accumulation and distribution of plant biomass can reflect its response and adaptability to the environment; therefore, studying the biomass allocation pattern of ephemeral plants under different environmental conditions is helpful to further understand the survival strategies of these plants. This study investigated Erodium oxyrhinchum samples germinated in the summer in bare sand and in the spring in three natural habitats (i.e., bare sand, algal crust, and lichen crust). The aboveground and underground biomass were obtained by the whole-plant excavation method. Differences in the plant biomass distribution and allometric growth among the four types [i.e., Bare Sand-Spring Germination (BS), Algal-Spring Germination (AS), Lichen-Spring Germination (LS), Summer Germination in Bare Sand (SG)] were systematically compared and analyzed to explore the variability and conservatism of their resource allocation strategy. The aboveground, underground, and total biomass of individual plants was highest for BS, followed by AS, then followed by LS and SG, who were equal. The root to shoot ratio (R/S) of SG was similar to that of LS and AS, all of which were higher than BS. The aboveground and underground biomass of BS and SG plants both showed an isometric relationship, whereas that of AS and LS represented allometric relationships; nonetheless, a common allometric scaling exponent (0.8843) existed in all four types. The R/S for AS and LS decreased allometrically as individual plant size increased, while the R/S for BS and SG remained relatively constant. In short, the biomass allocation of Erodium oxyrhinchum may be affected by the external environment and individual development, and showed obvious plasticity, which reflected a trade-off between the conservatism and plasticity of resource allocation.

Key words: ephemeral plants, Erodium oxyrhinchum, biomass allocation, allometry, biological soil crust, summer sprout