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Responses of rhizomatous grass Phragmites communis to wind erosion: effects on biomass allocation

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Abstract

Background and aims

The ability of modifying biomass allocation to deal with different environmental stress is an important mechanism for plant population expansion and maintenance in the unstable dune environment where wind erosion persists. However, how biomass is partitioned between horizontal rhizome extension and vertical ramet growth in response to wind erosion has not been fully understood. The objective of this study was to explore how wind erosion affected the relationship between horizontal rhizome extension and vertical ramet growth using a common rhizomatous perennial grass, Phragmites communis.

Methods

We dug 300 cm × 200 cm, 80 cm deep pits in a garden experiment plot. Clonal fragments of P. communis were planted individually at a depth of 40 cm in these pits for 4 weeks before treatments. Surface sand was gradually removed to the final depth of 0 (control), 10, 20, 30 and 40 cm (maximum sand removal). Ramet emergence time, rhizome-based and tiller-based ramet number, rhizome number and length, biomass of vertically and horizontally oriented structures were monitored at the end of the experiment.

Results

With increasing erosion depth, the proportion of tiller-based ramets (in total number of ramets) increased, whereas that of rhizome-based ramets decreased. With increasing erosion depth, the percentage of vertically oriented structures biomass in total biomass increased significantly, whereas that of horizontally oriented structures biomass decreased.

Conclusions

The changes in biomass allocation (i.e., more allocation in vertical than horizontal biomass) together with a trade-off in tiller-based and rhizome-based ramets may enable P. communis to make better use of the resources in erosion conditions and maximize plant population expansion and maintenance.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Xiumei Wang, Hongmei Wang, Yongming Luo, Jianjiang Qian, Jinlei Zhu, Feilong Hu and Chuanfu Zang for field and laboratory assistance. We also thank section editor Dr. Walck and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions that improved this manuscript greatly. The study was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31200539) and Key Project of Chinese National Programs for Fundamental Research and Development (No. 2013CB429903). Lixin Wang acknowledges the financial support from iM2CS-GEIRE of IUPUI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110164, China

    Bo Liu & Zhimin Liu

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Lixin Wang

  3. Liaoning Environmental Monitoring and Experiment Center, Shenyang, 110161, China

    Zhengning Wang

  4. Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Zhimin Liu

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  1. Bo Liu
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  4. Zhengning Wang
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Correspondence to Zhimin Liu.

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Responsible Editor: Jeffrey Walck.

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Liu, B., Liu, Z., Wang, L. et al. Responses of rhizomatous grass Phragmites communis to wind erosion: effects on biomass allocation. Plant Soil 380, 389–398 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2104-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2104-y

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