Flooding duration and sediment texture play vital roles in the growth and adaptation of wetland plants. However, there is a lack of research on the interactive effects of flooding duration and sediments on wetland plants. A two-factor experiment with flooding duration and sediment texture was designed in the study, involving three plant species commonly found in the Poyang Lake wetland (i.e., Carex cinerascens, Phalaris arundinacea, and Polygonum criopolitanum). Our findings were as follows: (i) Sediments play a crucial role in the growth and adaptation of hygrophilous plants, but they exhibited a weaker effect than flooding. (ii) Sediment texture mediates flooding to affect the stressing responses of wetland plant functional traits, including the leaf chlorophyll content, the plant height, and the number of leaves and ramets. (iii) Sediment texture forms interactive effects with flooding duration and directly influences hygrophilous plants. The results of this study help provide theoretical insights from a more scientific perspective for the prediction of hygrophilous plant dynamics and to facilitate the formulation of wetland management.
Evergreen broad-leaved forest (EBLF) is climax vegetation in East China, and Jiangxi Province is located at the center of EBLF. Although many phytosociological studies have provided detailed descriptions on this forest at local and regional scales, knowledge on the high-level classification of EBLF and factors controlling their tree species composition and distribution are still lacking. We aim at providing a high-level classification framework for EBLF in Jiangxi and exploring the roles of topographic and climatic factors in driving their distributions. We investigated 205 EBLF plots covering the main alliances across Jiangxi Province. Two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) were used to distinguish the EBLF types. Diagnostic and indicator species were detected. The nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test was used to compare the differences between the groups of EBLFs. We also used redundancy analysis (RDA) and variation partitioning to estimate the effects of climatic, geographical, and topographical factors on the distribution of EBLFs in Jiangxi. The EBLFs in Jiangxi were classified into four types based on the diagnostic taxa and verified by TWINSPAN, i.e., lowland, ravine monsoon, montane typical, and dwarf cloud EBLF types. These four EBLF types are associated with climatic and topographic conditions, and their distribution pattern reflects biogeographic differences. Our study provides an important basis for the syntaxonomic classification of EBLFs and further in-depth studies on humid EBLFs in East China. We also emphasize the importance of conservation practices to protect these forests as diversified Tertiary relict plants.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.