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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (10): 58-70.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2022476

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Differential covariation characteristics in functional traits of two ephemerals of Boraginaceae in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

Xin-yue JIN1,2,3(), Li GONG1, Meng-ting WANG1,2,3, Ye TAO2,3, Duo-qi ZHOU1()   

  1. 1.Province Key Laboratory of the Biodiversity Study and Ecology Conservation in Southwest Anhui,College of Life Sciences,Anqing Normal University,Anqing 246133,China
    2.State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology,Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands,Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Urumqi 830011,China
    3.Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Plant Gene Resources,Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Urumqi 830011,China
  • Received:2022-12-07 Revised:2023-02-10 Online:2023-10-20 Published:2023-07-26
  • Contact: Duo-qi ZHOU

Abstract:

Ephemerals are a specialised plant group that have evolved to escape summer drought, but it is not clear whether the functional traits of different ephemeral species have the same or similar covariant characteristics. In this study, two species from the same family (Boraginaceae) but different genera widely distributed in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Xinjiang, China, Arnebia decumbens and Nonea caspica, were studied to answer this question. The data were obtained by field sampling and indoor measurement, and the differences in functional traits, allometric relationships among traits and trait covariance relationships of different species were systematically studied by reduced major axis regression, principal component analysis and plant trait network analysis. The results showed that the aboveground biomass (2.217 g·plant-1), whole plant biomass (2.407 g·plant-1), crown diameter (14.26 cm), and crown diameter to height ratio (1.550) of N. caspica were significantly higher than A. decumbens (1.010 g·plant-1, 1.145 g·plant-1, 10.95 cm, and 1.138), but the root-to-shoot ratio of the latter (0.147) was significantly greater than the former (0.091). There were mostly significant allometric relationships (α≠1) among functional traits of the two species, e.g., aboveground biomass allocation rates were higher than the belowground biomass (α=0.888 and 0.909), but the biomass allocation was body size-dependent for them. The two species showed different phenotypic developmental patterns. For example, the height and crown diameter of A. decumbens grew at an equal rate (α=1.095), while N. caspica increased crown diameter at a much higher rate than height (α=1.516), resulting in the larger body size or ‘stumpy’ plant shape. Principal component analysis and plant trait network analysis revealed that differences in covariant characteristics among functional traits existed for the two species, and the hub traits and network topological parameters in the trait networks also differed. The study showed that even for ephemerals from different genera in the same family, the functional traits and trait association characteristics were not identical and showed a degree of species specificity.

Key words: herbaceous plant, allometric relationship, trait network, radiate adaptation, desert ecosystem