Al-Bakre Dhafer A
Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71491, Saudi Arabia.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Jun 1;14(11):1696. doi: 10.3390/plants14111696.
Delile (Resedaceae) is a widely distributed desert shrub known for its remarkable growth form plasticity, growing either independently or as a facultative climber on other vegetation. Despite its ecological adaptability, the drivers underlying its dual growth strategy remain poorly understood in arid ecosystems. This study aimed to investigate the growth form plasticity of across diverse ecological gradients in Saudi Arabia and identify key environmental and floristic factors influencing its climbing and independent forms. Field surveys were conducted from 2020 to 2024 across 103 sites, using stratified random sampling. At each site, vegetation data were collected using 50 × 50 m quadrats, and species composition, life form percentage, and behavior were recorded. Results revealed clear ecological separation between behaviors. Climbing individuals were associated with higher elevations, greater tree and shrub cover, and moderate soil fertility, while independent individuals were broadly distributed in herbaceous and open habitats. Diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson, evenness) increased with altitude, particularly in climbing habitats. PERMANOVA confirmed significant differences in species composition between behaviors ( = 0.0001), and SIMPER analysis identified species like and as key contributors in climbing habitats. Indicator species analysis revealed behavior-specific taxa, while CCA demonstrated that rainfall, soil moisture, and temperature were the strongest environmental predictors of growth behavior. This study highlights the ecological flexibility of and the role of environmental filtering and plant community structure in shaping its growth strategy. These results have implications for the growth form plasticity of desert plants and can be applied to vegetation management and restoration in arid ecosystems.
德利勒木（刺戟科）是一种广泛分布的沙漠灌木，以其显著的生长形态可塑性而闻名，它既可以独立生长，也可以作为兼性攀缘植物依附于其他植被生长。尽管其具有生态适应性，但在干旱生态系统中，其双重生长策略背后的驱动因素仍知之甚少。本研究旨在调查沙特阿拉伯不同生态梯度下德利勒木的生长形态可塑性，并确定影响其攀缘和独立形态的关键环境和植物区系因素。2020年至2024年，采用分层随机抽样在103个地点进行了实地调查。在每个地点，使用50×50米的样方收集植被数据，并记录物种组成、生活型百分比和生长行为。结果显示，不同生长行为之间存在明显的生态分离。攀缘个体与较高海拔、更大的树木和灌木覆盖率以及中等土壤肥力相关，而独立个体广泛分布于草本和开阔生境中。多样性指数（香农指数、辛普森指数、均匀度）随海拔升高而增加，尤其是在攀缘生境中。PERMANOVA分析证实，不同生长行为之间的物种组成存在显著差异（P = 0.0001），SIMPER分析确定了诸如[具体物种1]和[具体物种2]等物种是攀缘生境中的关键贡献者。指示物种分析揭示了特定行为的分类群，而典范对应分析表明，降雨、土壤湿度和温度是生长行为最强的环境预测因子。本研究突出了德利勒木的生态灵活性以及环境筛选和植物群落结构在塑造其生长策略中的作用。这些结果对沙漠植物的生长形态可塑性具有启示意义，并可应用于干旱生态系统的植被管理和恢复。
