Microcosm study on cold adaptation and recovery of an exotic mangrove plant, Laguncularia racemosa in China

Current Status and Potential Invasiveness Evaluation of an Exotic Mangrove Species, Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F. Gaertn, on Hainan Island, China

“…This result was mainly because L. racemosa had a stronger invasive potential, and it then occupied widespread natural habitats and an ecological niche, resulting in intense competition with other native mangrove species, especially for water and nutrients, which was strongly consistent with the theory proposed by Alexandra and Peter [41]. For starters, L. racemosa displayed stronger advantages in growth, dispersion, and tolerance to environmental stresses compared to native mangrove species [28,29]. Moreover, one of the previous studies from Li et al, (2019) held an ecological comparison analysis between L. racemosa and S. apetala (another exotic mangrove species in China), which revealed that L. racemosa possessed a wider ground diameter circumference, taller tree height, and lower leaf construction cost than S. apetala, indicative of a higher capacity of invasiveness from L. racemosa [42].…”

“…Interestingly, the importance values of L. racemosa in terms of its tree and shrub layers first decreased and then increased with the increase in planting years; however, the dynamic result was the opposite in its seedling layer, which implied that with the increase in planting years, L. racemosa grew into shrubs and trees and dominated in their layers, while L. racemosa decreased gradually with the increase in planting years in the seedling layer since it was a light-loving species and not shade tolerant (Figure 2). Indeed, a low temperature (5 • C) inhibited the net photosynthetic rate, water use efficiency, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance in seedlings of L. racemosa, whose leaves elicited an obvious symptom of wilting at the same time, and, surprisingly, these abovementioned photosynthetic parameters exhibited a self-restoring performance immediately when these L. racemosa seedlings were transferred to an appropriate temperature [29], which could account for our findings in the present study.…”

“…These results indicated that L. racemosa has a strong adaptability to various types of environments and possesses the abilities of strong natural diffusion and potential invasiveness. Indeed, a previous study from Lang et al, (2022) on the cold adaptation of L. racemosa reported that its seeds would not germinate at a relatively low temperature, such as 5 • C; however, they could recover themselves and germinate after transferring to a suitable temperature (25 • C), implying that it could also endure low temperatures (5 • C) and tolerate cold winters; hence, through ocean current shifting and invasiveness, its tens of thousands of seeds could settle spontaneously in coastal regions at high latitudes in China, such as northeastern Fujian and southeastern Zhejiang, and replace native mangrove plant species, thereby breaking the ecological structures and functions of local mangrove ecosystems [29].…”

“…Since then, based on L. racemosa's specific characteristics, such as quick propagation, fast growth, wide distribution, and strong environmental stress resistance, it has been widely well liked and cultivated in the estuarine and coastal regions of Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian for mangrove remediation [27]. However, these properties of L. racemosa have two sides, which simultaneously bring powerful competition with native mangrove trees and increase L. racemosa's invasion risk [28,29]. Hence, a better assessment of the entire distribution and potential invasiveness of L. racemosa would largely maintain the health of native mangrove ecosystems.…”

Leaf Cuticular Waxes of Bermudagrass Response to Environment‐Driven Adaptations of Climate Effect Inferred from Latitude and Longitude Gradient in China

“…[13] Cold stress forced the upregulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant activities in Laguncularia racemose leaves. [14] Under the combined stress of drought and heat, the levels of antioxidant enzymes, proline, chlorophyll, relative water content, photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance of yellow horn plants were significantly affected. [15] Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), one of the most important warm-season turfgrass, is widely used in the construction of golf courses, lawns, sport fields and wetlands vegetation restoration.…”