Tiller recruitment and mortality in the dryland bunchgrass Eragrostis curvula as affected by defoliation intensity

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of moderate (14 cm) vs. severe (7 cm) defoliation on tiller recruitment and mortality within the interior and on the perimeter of weeping lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) tussocks. Tiller number per marked shoot within the interior was significantly greater in plants defoliated at 14-cm stubble height than at 7-cm stubble height (2·37 vs. 0·43, p<0·05) 28 weeks after defoliation; likewise, tiller number per marked shoot was also greater on the perimeter of tussocks in the higher stubble than the lower stubble defoliation treatment (5·10 vs. 2·03, p<0·05). Tiller natality increased significantly 4 weeks after defoliation except for tillers cut to 7-cm stubble height within the interior of tussocks where tiller natality reached a peak at 4·5 weeks after defoliation. During the later stages of canopy development, tiller numbers per marked shoot gradually declined as tiller mortality increased. Tillers began senescing 13 weeks after defoliation, and the senescence rate was 52% greater in the 7-cm stubble height treatment than in the 14-cm stubble height treatment (2·33 vs. 1·53, p<0·0001). Within the interior of tussocks, number of the marked tillers more than doubled under the 14-cm stubble height treatment, whereas the plants lost 57% of the monitored tillers under the 7-cm stubble height treatment. We concluded that the central dieback process in weeping lovegrass is accelerated by severe defoliation.     

沙坡头铁路北侧人工植被区油蒿苗和小画眉草的分布格局

采用Greig-Smith区组面积方差分析法、负二项式法和方差/均值比率法检验沙坡头铁路北侧人工植被区的油蒿苗和小画眉草种群的分布格局,表现为集群分布.     

人工固沙区一年生植物小画眉草的竞争调节

以分布在沙坡头沙漠试验研究站人工固沙植被中的一年生植物小画眉草为例,利用定点样方观测种群数量变化和定株测定植株生长的方法,研究了荒漠植物中是否存在竞争的问题,得到如下初步结论:①在降水年际变率较大的荒漠生境中,当降水相对多时植物个体间表现出明显的竞争作用。②在种群水平上,种内竞争的数量调节作用表现为将变化幅度很大的初始密度调节为变化范围很小的终局密度。③在个体水平上,竞争制约着可塑生长过程,植株平均重量随种群密度的增加而减小。④当种群初始密度大时小画眉草的存活曲线为DeeveyⅢ型,表现出较明显的r对策者的特点。     

Ecological adaptation strategies of annual plants in artificial vegetation-stabilized sand dune in Shapotou Region

Taking annual plant Eragrostis poaeides in the artificial vegetation-stabilized sand dune in the Shapotou Experimental Research Station as example, study has been done on the adaptation strategies of annual plants to random environment through fixed quadrat observations of population changes and fixed plant determinations of individual growth, seed germination,population dynamics, spatial distribution pattern of population, competition and regulation. During the growing season, the survival rate of annual plants depends on the precipitation intensity and precipitation duration which activate the germination of seeds. The optimal germination strategy of annual plants in this habitat during the growing season appears as continuous germination under suitable conditions. Such continuous germination is an adaptive characteristic of annual plants to random environment. In addition, the variation processes of population size and regulation mechanism of E. poaeoides are studied. Statistical results of natural population in four consecutive years show that water condition in the habitat is the leading factor affecting the population dynamics of E. poaeoides. During the establishment period E. poaeoides had a higher death rate, but in the middle to later period they could survive stably. Due to the limitation of soil moisture, the competition among individuals for water inevitably led to self-thinning phenomena. Under very arid condition, the survival curve of annual herbs entirely appears as Deevey Ⅲ type (C type), but under relatively adequate precipitation condition, the survival curve appears as intermediate type. The strategy of life history obviously appears as r-strategy. Plant species of r-strategy often occurs in the early succession stage of the communities. In the relatively adequate and evenly-distributed rainfall years, E. poaeoides population exhibited a density-dependent, i. e., survival rate increased with decrease in population density. The main pattern to regulate the population number for the intraspecific competition is to regulate the highly variable initial density into a final density with narrow variation range.