Zhang Rui, Chen Zhi-Huan, Li Yu-Meng, Wang Ning, Cui Wen-Tao, Zhao Bing-Nan, Si Chao
School of Life Science and Engineering, Handan University, Handan, China.
School of Special Education, Handan University, Handan, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2023 Aug 15;14:1182068. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1182068. eCollection 2023.
Clonal integration of connected ramets within clones is an important ecological advantage. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the effects of clonal integration on performance of donor and recipient ramets when one resource is heterogeneous can be influenced by the availability of another resource of donor ramets.
We conducted a greenhouse experiment on the widespread, perennial herb . Clonal fragments consisting of pairs of connected ramets were grown for seven weeks. The younger, apical ramets were exposed under 30% or 100% light condition and the older, basal ramets were treated with three levels of nutrients. The connections between ramets were either severed or left intact. 30% light condition negatively affected the growth of apical ramets, basal ramets and the whole fragments.
Clonal integration significantly increased the growth of apical ramets, but decreased the growth of the basal ramets. Medium and high level nutrient availability of basal ramets significantly increased the growth of apical ramets, basal ramets and the whole fragments. At the high nutrient level, the reduction in growth of basal ramets from clonal integration was decreased, but the growth responses of apical ramets and the whole fragments to clonal integration were not influenced by nutrient availability.
The results suggested that clonal integration was benefit to the growth of apical ramets of Glechoma longituba but at the cost of reducing the growth of basal ramets. Although the high nutrient level could reduce the cost that clonal integration brought to the unshaded basal ramets, but could not increase the benefit that clonal integration brought to the shaded apical ramets and whole fragment.
克隆体内相连分株的克隆整合是一项重要的生态优势。在本研究中，我们检验了这样一个假设，即当一种资源存在异质性时，克隆整合对供体和受体分株性能的影响可能会受到供体分株另一种资源可用性的影响。
我们对一种广泛分布的多年生草本植物进行了温室实验。由成对相连分株组成的克隆片段生长了七周。较年轻的顶端分株处于30%或100%光照条件下，较老的基部分株接受三种养分水平的处理。分株之间的连接要么切断，要么保持完整。30%光照条件对顶端分株、基部分株和整个片段的生长产生负面影响。
克隆整合显著增加了顶端分株的生长，但降低了基部分株的生长。基部分株的中高水平养分可用性显著增加了顶端分株、基部分株和整个片段的生长。在高养分水平下，克隆整合导致的基部分株生长减少有所降低，但顶端分株和整个片段对克隆整合的生长响应不受养分可用性的影响。
结果表明，克隆整合有利于连钱草顶端分株的生长，但以降低基部分株的生长为代价。尽管高养分水平可以降低克隆整合给未遮光基部分株带来的成本，但并不能增加克隆整合给遮光顶端分株和整个片段带来的益处。
