Effects of waterlogging on intraspecific interactions of the clonal herb Alternanthera philoxeroides

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00973

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Plant-plant interaction is fundamental in plant ecology. Many studies have examined the effects of environmental factors such as light, nutrients and water on plant-plant interactions, but few have tested the effects of waterlogging. Our objective is to investigate the effects of waterlogging on intraspecific interactions and test the hypothesis that waterlogging can modify the type and intensity of intraspecific interactions.
Methods We grew plants of Alternanthera philoxeroides outdoors at three densities (1, 4 or 16 plants in one pot) and four levels of waterlogging severity (water levels of -20 (no waterlogging), 0, 20 or 40 cm). After three months, plants were harvested and data were collected.
Important findings With increasing plant density or waterlogging severity, growth of A. philoxeroides decreased significantly. However, the effect of density differed greatly under different levels of waterlogging severity. With no waterlogging, the effect of density on growth was negative and the competition intensity was high. With water levels of 0 and 20 cm, the density effect was still negative, but the intensity decreased. With a water level of 40 cm, however, the density effect was positive. Moreover, waterlogging severity significantly affected the relative neighbor effect and its values increased gradually from negative (under no waterlogging) to positive (in 40 cm). The results support a stress-gradient hypothesis and suggest that waterlogging can affect intraspecific interactions. With increasing waterlogging severity, intensity of competition decreases while that of facilitation increases.

Key words: competition, facilitation, plant-plant interactions, stress, stress gradient hypothesis, water level

YU Guo-Lei. Effects of waterlogging on intraspecific interactions of the clonal herb Alternanthera philoxeroides[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2011, 35(9): 973-980.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2011.00973

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2011/V35/I9/973

Figures/Tables 4

Table 1 Effects of waterlogging and plant density on growth of Alternanthera philoxeroides plant

性状 Trait	水淹 Waterlogging		植株密度 Plant density		交互作用 Interaction
性状 Trait	F	p	F	p	F	p
总生物量 Total biomass	44.7	<0.001	9.9	<0.001	5.0	0.001
根生物量 Root biomass	83.5	<0.001	15.4	<0.001	14.2	<0.001
茎生物量 Stem biomass	30.0	<0.001	2.8	0.075	1.3	0.297
叶生物量 Leaf biomass	45.5	<0.001	52.6	<0.001	14.7	<0.001
总叶面积 Total leaf area	28.4	<0.001	40.4	<0.001	6.5	<0.001
总节数 No. of total nodes	24.8	<0.001	158.9	<0.001	16.4	<0.001
总茎长 Total stem length	22.6	<0.001	193.9	<0.001	13.2	<0.001
总叶片数 No. of total leaves	42.0	<0.001	72.6	<0.001	20.1	<0.001

Fig. 1 Effects of waterlogging (water level) and plant density on total biomass (A), root biomass (B), stolon biomass (C) and leaf biomass (D) per Alternanthera philoxeroides plant (mean ± SE).

Fig. 2 Effects of waterlogging (water level) and plant density on total number of leaves (A), total leaf area (B), total stem length (C) and total number of nodes (D) per Alternanthera philoxeroides plant (mean ± SE).

Fig. 3 Effects of waterlogging (water level) and plant density on the relative neighbor effect (RNE) of Alternanthera philoxeroides plant (mean ± SE).

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