Effects of Salinity and Water Depth on Germination of Phragmites australis in Coastal Wetland of the Yellow River Delta

Abstract

Phragmites australis, a perennial herb and a widespread species, is widely distributed in coastal wetland in the Yellow River Delta. Laboratory experiments were carried out to assess the effects of water and salinity on seed germination of P. australis and recovery response after seed transferred to distilled water. The germination responses of seeds were determined over a wide range of salinities of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 2.5, and 3% and water depths of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 15 cm. Final percent germination and germination speed except for at 0.5% salinity treatment were decreased with increasing salinities. Lower salinity (0.5%) could stimulate germination of P. australis, while seed germination was nearly inhibited completely at salinity 3%. P. australis percent germination was decreased with water depth increasing except 2 cm water depth treatment. Percent germination and speed were great and fast at lower water depth. After end of the recovery period, the final percent germination of P. australis after high salinity treatments (2, 2.5, and 3%) was up to 80%, while those after low salinity treatments were lower than 1%, and percent germination after different water depth treatments was zero. The results indicate that it is possible to accelerate the degraded coastal wetland restoration process of P. australis population by sexual ways in the Yellow River Delta.

Vegetation pattern in shell ridge island in China’s Yellow River Delta

“…On the other hand, a variety of reintroduction measures for species conservation through the establishment of gene and seed banks, a better understanding of taxa ecological adaptability, plant taxa ex situ protection, and in situ recovery, are essential (Cogoni et al, 2013;Ren et al, 2014). Recent studies in the Yellow River Delta about the physiological and ecological adaptability of suitable plant species to sand burial, and variation in underground water level, salinity, and fresh water have identified possible directions for taxa reintroduction (Cui et al, 2010;Yu et al, 2012;Guan et al, 2013;Sun et al, 2014;Xia et al, 2014), which could provide technical support for restoration of vegetation on the Shell Ridge Islands.…”

Effect of dikes on the distribution and characteristics of Phragmites australis in temperate intertidal wetlands located in the South Sea of Korea

“…Furthermore, disturbances caused by humans may have accelerated the expansion of the invasive Phragmites (Bart et al 2006;McCormick et al 2010). There has been a significant amount of researches conducted on the distribution and growth characteristic of haplotype M in North America and Europe (Haslam 1972;Saltonstall 2002;Chambers et al 2003;Lambertini et al 2008;Engloner 2009;Meriste et al 2012) but little is known about haplotype P which is a main native genetic type of Phragmites in Korea and also in East China (Zhao et al 1999;Chu et al 2011;Gorai et al 2011;An et al 2012;Yu et al 2012). The different genetic lineages have the potential to embody different physiological tolerance and behavior ).…”

Dynamic characteristics of soil properties in a Robinia pseudoacacia vegetation and coastal eco-restoration

“…Soil salinity and water are two dominant factors on plant distribution in the Yellow River Delta (Yu et al, 2012). This area suffers greatly from soil secondary salinization and insufficient precipitation, demonstrating a high evaporation-precipitation ratio.…”