Effect of enclosure on reproductive allocation of wheatgrass Agropyron mongolicum populations in desert steppes

Abstract

Plants generally adopt different reproductive strategies to adapt to their environments and increase their fitness. Here, we studied the effects of enclosure cultivation on the reproductive allocation of a wheatgrass species Agropyron mongolicum in the Desert steppes of Northern China. The results showed that: (a) after enclosure cultivation, the height, clump width, coverage, and clump biomass of A. mongolicum significantly increased by 78.96% (p = .040), 63.50% (p = .013), 50.89% (p = .032), and 205.38% (p = .022), respectively, whereas density did not show a significant change (p = .330). (b) Enclosure cultivation significantly affected the biomass of A. mongolicum. Compared with cultivation outside the fence, root, leaf, and spike biomass of A. mongolicum inside the fence significantly increased by 183.52% (p = .020), 334.09% (p = .011), and 381.25% (p = .005), respectively. In addition, root biomass was the highest among the components (38.53 and 13.59 g inside and outside the fence, respectively) and spike biomass was the lowest (6.16 and 1.28 g inside and outside the fence, respectively). (c) Enclosure cultivation affected elemental nutrient allocation and the caloric values of various components of A. mongolicum, and the caloric values are positively correlated with carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus contents. Enclosure cultivation significantly reduced carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the roots, as well as nitrogen and phosphorus in the spikes, but significantly increased nitrogen in the spikes by 9.78%. The caloric values of A. mongolicum inside and outside the fence in decreasing order were as follows: spikes > leaves > stems > roots. Comparison of cultivation effects between inside and outside the fence showed that the caloric values of the spikes and roots significantly increased by 0.92% and 1.60%, respectively, whereas those of the leaves significantly decreased by 0.70%. Our results demonstrate that the reproductive allocation of elemental nutrients and caloric values in nonreproductive and reproductive organs are plastic to arid environments.

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“…S.Y. Chen et al (2019) proved that the types of Cyanobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Proteobacteria are the most dominant bacteria in the rabbit microbiome, regardless of breed. In addition, M. Velasco-Galilea et al (2020) showed that incomplete feeding and the use of antibiotics directly affect the content of microflora in the gastrointestinal tract.…”

Agropyron mongolicum Keng’s Growth in Response to Nitrogen Addition Is Linked to Root Morphological Traits and Nitrogen-Use Efficiency

“…The desert steppe is highly vulnerable to environmental changes and anthropogenic disturbances because species are taxed at their upper biological limits [4]. Agropyron mongolicum Keng (Mongolian wheatgrass) is an important perennial grass widely distributed in the desert steppe of northern China [5,6]. It provides positive effects on soil conservation, wind breaking and sand fixing and has important ecological restoration functions [5].…”

“…Agropyron mongolicum Keng (Mongolian wheatgrass) is an important perennial grass widely distributed in the desert steppe of northern China [5,6]. It provides positive effects on soil conservation, wind breaking and sand fixing and has important ecological restoration functions [5]. A. mongolicum is a good forage grass with early spring regrowth and a high yield [6].…”