The Influences Of Variation In The Mating Environment And Resource Availability To Female Reproductive Allocation Within Inflorescence Of Individual Pedicularis Semitorta

There is a common phenomenon that productive allocation discrapency exists in inflorescence of many plants,especially alpine plants in which arouse our great interesting. Variation in the mating environment(opportunity for pollen donation and/or receiptation)and in resource availability is the reason for different reproductive allocation patterns among flowers within inflorescence.However,the experiments to evaluate outside environmental factors effects on female reproductive allocation are rare. In this experiment,we want to see the effects of population density and defoliation on the productive allocation of Pedicularis semitorta.The parameters tested include the seed number,seed mass,ovule number per fruit, individual seed weight,abortion number and seed set rate.At this plant's blooming time,we speculate the pollinators behaviors including how many approaches,how many flowers and plants one time as well as how many flowers per plant.We also choose twenty groups nature Pedicularis semitorta in aim to know whether this plant's reproduction allocation is restricted by pollen resource.At last,the seed germination rates of fruit experienced density and defoliation treatments from different position on the inflorescence are tested.The results show that:bumblebees are the exclusive pollinators in this location;there is no significant discrepancy of the rate of fruits set and the rate of seed set between nature pollinated and artificial supplement pollinated plant.Population density has significant effect on seed number per fruit,individual seed weight,abortion number and seed set rate,but the total seed mass per fruit are consistent among different densities,though there are significance in pollinators behaviors(how many flowers and plants one time as well as how many flowers per plant)between high and low density samples.While defoliation has evident effect on seed number,seed mass,ovule number per fruit,abortion number and seed set rate.Under density and defoliation treatments,fruits position has mark relation to all the above parameters which indicates architecture effect plays a role in this plant female productive success.At the same time,all the parameters of defoliated individual plant are less than the un-defoliated ones.The interaction effect of defoliation and fruit position has significant negative influence on seed number,abortion severals and ovule per fruit.That means that defoliation has negative effects on this plant's productive allocation.However density and fruit position and theirs interaction effect have no significant influence to the seed germination rate of this plant,so do defoliation and fruit position and theirs interaction effect.This shows seed germination rate of this plant is relatively stable comparing with the above parameters.But defoliation treatment reduce the rate of seed germination.We suggest architecture effect and resource competition are both affect productive allocation within inflorescence of Pedicularis semitorta.