Linking trait network to growth performance of submerged macrophytes in response to ammonium pulse

Characteristics of plant trait network and its influencing factors in impounded lakes and channel rivers of South-to-North Water Transfer Project, China

“…Moreover, organ mass allocation traits, including dry plant weight, dry stem weight and dry leaf weight, were as central as leaf traits in PTNs. The result was consistent with recent finding that stem-and leaf-traits (stem ratio and leaf ratio) significantly related to biomass allocation were the hub traits in submerged macrophyte PTNs (Yuan et al, 2023). Previous studies revealed that plant height was closely related to stem height and leaf area (Price et al, 2014;Dıáz et al, 2016), and the capacity for light and nutrient resource acquisition depends on the allocation of biomass to leaves and stem (Hilbert, 1990;Barko et al, 1991).…”

“…Wang et al (2022) pointed that submerged macrophyte PTNs structure was more dispersed under low or high nutrient levels than that found at moderate nutrient levels. Yuan et al (2023) showed that ammonium pulses enhanced trait connectivity in submerged macrophyte PTNs, and the highly connected traits were plant biomass, stem ratio, leaf ratio and ramet number in PTNs, which were related to biomass allocation. Thus, PTNs can provide an integrative information about submerged macrophytes response to environmental changes in impounded lakes and channel rivers of water transfer project.…”

How Eutrophication Promotes Exotic Aquatic Plant Invasion in the Lake Littoral Zone?

“…In general, there is a trade-off between competition and tolerance in plants. , Invasive plants are highly competitive, with high capacity for resource acquisition, uptake and assimilation, and rapid relative growth rates (RGR), allowing them to rapidly occupy vacant ecological niches. ,, In contrast, environmentally tolerant plants have low photosynthetic and respiration rates, slow RGR, and large carbon reserves, and they have high tolerance to environmental stress. ,, Thus, biomass and RGR respond to the plant growth rate, while the ramet number and plant height can reflect the ability of plants to expand spatially, and these four traits can be used to predict the competitive ability of plants. , In addition, carbohydrate reserves, such as starch, are key traits for plant maintenance and growth in stressful environments. ,, Phenolics give the plants the ability to withstand external animal feeding, cold weather, and drought events. − Thus, starch and phenolics can be used to address the ability of plants to tolerate external disturbances. Although the high competitive ability of invasive plants is widely recognized, ,, two issues remain unclear: (1) how the trade-off between competition and tolerance of invasive and native plants responds to eutrophication in the littoral zone, and (2) what the implications of this trade-off are for plant invasion of the littoral zone.…”

“…11,15,37 In contrast, environmentally tolerant plants have low photosynthetic and respiration rates, slow RGR, and large carbon reserves, and they have high tolerance to environmental stress. 20,29,38 Thus, biomass and RGR respond to the plant growth rate, while the ramet number and plant height can reflect the ability of plants to expand spatially, and these four traits can be used to predict the competitive ability of plants. 39,40 In addition, carbohydrate reserves, such as starch, are key traits for plant maintenance and growth in stressful environments.…”

“…Most research on the effects of eutrophication on aquatic plants has focused on individual root, stem, and leaf tissues, and there are comparatively few studies of plant performance responses to eutrophication from a whole-plant perspective. ,, However, plant traits form a trait network with feedback regulation, and the connectivity among traits characterizes the trade-offs and resource redistribution of plant traits in response to the environment. − Plant trait networks (PTNs) can be used to elucidate the complex relationships among traits and to calculate topological parameters of the network. , If plant traits are considered as nodes and trait–trait relationships as edges, multiple traits can be integrated by the relationships used to form a PTN. Trait–trait relationships can be quantified by correlation analyses, , and the overall plant resistance to changing environments can be evaluated by calculating the topological parameters of the network, e.g., average degree and modularity.…”