Welcome to Acta Prataculturae Sinica ! Today is Share:

Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (8): 127-136.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020542

Previous Articles    

Studies on drought tolerance of wild Elymus sibiricus at the seedling stage

Chuan-qi WANG1(), Wen-hui LIU1, Yong-chao ZHANG1, Qing-ping ZHOU1,2()   

  1. 1.Key Laboratory of Superior Forage Germplasm in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine,Qinghai University,Xining 810016,China
    2.Southwest University for Nationalities,Chengdu 610041,China
  • Received:2020-12-08 Revised:2020-01-18 Online:2021-07-09 Published:2021-07-09
  • Contact: Qing-ping ZHOU

Abstract:

In this study, we evaluated the drought tolerance of Elymus sibiricus, a plant native to the Northwest Sichuan Plateau, in a pot experiment. Changes in the morphological and physiological characteristics of E. sibiricus under drought stress at the seedling stage were analyzed. The main results were as follows: as the period of drought stress extended, the rate of increase in plant height, leaf area, and aboveground biomass of E. sibiricus became slower, the root system dry weight and relative conductivity gradually increased, and the survival percentage and chlorophyll content gradually decreased. Drought stress caused different degrees of damage to E. sibiricus at the seedling stage, as indicated by growth inhibition and decreased survival. To absorb more water under drought conditions, E. sibiricus tended to distribute more biomass to the roots, and reduced biomass allocation to plant height and leaf area. These adaptations promoted effective water transport and prevented excessive evaporation of water. According to a subordinate degree analysis, eight wild E. sibiricus materials were ranked from most to least drought tolerant as follows: 14-001>14-165>14-235>14-065>14-251>14-115>14-189>14-021. These findings provide an important theoretical basis for the breeding of drought-resistant E. sibiricus, and have practical significance for effectively controlling ecological disasters such as degradation and desertification of alpine grassland on the Northwest Sichuan Plateau.

Key words: Elymus sibiricus, native plant, seedling stage, drought tolerance, subordinate function, Northwest Sichuan Plateau