Li Shou-Li, Yu Fei-Hai, Werger Marinus J A, Dong Ming, During Heinjo J, Zuidema Pieter A
1] State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China [2] Ecology &Biodiversity Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80084, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands [3] Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland.
1] State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China [2] College of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
Sci Rep. 2015 Mar 11;5:8935. doi: 10.1038/srep08935.
Desertification is a global environmental problem, and arid dunes with sparse vegetation are especially vulnerable to desertification. One way to combat desertification is to increase vegetation cover by planting plant species that can realize fast population expansion, even in harsh environments. To evaluate the success of planted species and provide guidance for selecting proper species to stabilize active dunes, demographic studies in natural habitats are essential. We studied the life history traits and population dynamics of a dominant clonal shrub Hedysarum laeve in Inner-Mongolia, northern China. Vital rates of 19057 ramets were recorded during three annual censuses (2007-2009) and used to parameterize Integral Projection Models to analyse population dynamics. The life history of H. laeve was characterized by high ramet turnover and population recruitment entirely depended on clonal propagation. Stochastic population growth rate was 1.32, suggesting that the populations were experiencing rapid expansion. Elasticity analysis revealed that clonal propagation was the key contributor to population growth. The capacity of high clonal propagation and rapid population expansion in mobile dunes makes H. laeve a suitable species to combat desertification. Species with similar life-history traits to H. laeve are likely to offer good opportunities for stabilizing active dunes in arid inland ecosystems.
荒漠化是一个全球性的环境问题，植被稀少的干旱沙丘尤其容易发生荒漠化。对抗荒漠化的一种方法是通过种植即使在恶劣环境下也能实现快速种群扩张的植物物种来增加植被覆盖。为了评估种植物种的成效并为选择合适的物种来稳定活动沙丘提供指导，在自然栖息地进行种群统计学研究至关重要。我们研究了中国北方内蒙古地区一种优势克隆灌木羊柴的生活史特征和种群动态。在三次年度普查（2007 - 2009年）期间记录了19057个分株的生命率，并用于参数化积分投影模型以分析种群动态。羊柴的生活史以高分株周转率为特征，种群补充完全依赖于克隆繁殖。随机种群增长率为1.32，表明种群正在经历快速扩张。弹性分析表明克隆繁殖是种群增长的关键因素。羊柴在流动沙丘中具有高克隆繁殖能力和快速种群扩张能力，使其成为对抗荒漠化的合适物种。与羊柴具有相似生活史特征的物种可能为稳定干旱内陆生态系统中的活动沙丘提供良好机会。
