Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Adama Mickiewicza 18, 70383, Szczecin, Poland.
Institute of Botany, Plant Science and Biodiversity Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 23, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 11;12(1):11761. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15894-0.
Carex buekii is a highly adaptive species showing a fairly wide ecological spectrum. It belongs to the group of river corridor plants which are vulnerable to any human activity directed at transformation of river valley habitats worldwide. This study was aimed at: determining the phenotypic variability of the species in the central part of its range, examining effects of soil conditions on the sedge's morphological traits, and finding out whether the phenotypic plasticity observed may have taxonomic implications. A total of 487 specimens from 26 populations were collected in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia and tested by univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical methods. The analysis involved 16 morphological traits and 7 soil parameters (organic matter, pH, potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, magnesium, calcium). Soil conditions were shown to affect the C. buekii morphology; particularly important was potassium, the only soil parameter that was indicated as a factor affecting intra-specific variability. Sites with lower contents of bioavailable potassium hosted C. buekii individuals which were generally smaller than those at sites showing higher soil potassium contents. The relationship held true also with respect to generative traits important in sedge taxonomy, i.e. utricle and beak lengths. Consideration of morphological differences only, without analysing relationships between morphology and soil conditions, could have resulted in distinguishing new entities at the level of species, subspecies or variety. Thus, knowledge on the range of phenotypic plasticity in field populations seems to be of a key importance in taxonomic studies.
薹草属植物是一种高度适应的物种，具有相当广泛的生态谱。它属于河流廊道植物群，易受到全球任何旨在改变河谷栖息地的人类活动的影响。本研究旨在：确定该物种在其分布中心的表型可变性，研究土壤条件对莎草形态特征的影响，并确定观察到的表型可塑性是否具有分类学意义。在匈牙利、波兰和斯洛伐克共采集了 26 个种群的 487 个样本，采用单变量、双变量和多变量统计方法进行了测试。分析涉及 16 个形态特征和 7 个土壤参数（有机质、pH 值、钾、磷、氮、镁、钙）。土壤条件会影响 C. buekii 的形态；钾是唯一被确定为影响种内变异性的土壤参数，其影响尤为重要。在生物有效性钾含量较低的地点，C. buekii 的个体通常比在土壤钾含量较高的地点小。这一关系也适用于在莎草分类学中很重要的生殖特征，即托叶和喙的长度。如果只考虑形态差异，而不分析形态与土壤条件之间的关系，可能会导致在物种、亚种或变种的水平上区分出新的实体。因此，了解野外种群的表型可塑性范围似乎在分类学研究中具有关键重要性。
