The Functional Traits Variation Regularity Of Invasive Plants Gaura Parviflora

The variation of plant functional traits reflects the adaptation strategies of plants,and the study of functional traits is one of the hot topics in ecology.There are small amount of studies on the application of functional traits to invasive plants in China.This study takes the invasive plant(Gaura parviflora Douglas ex Lehmann)as the research object.The functional traits of different periods(the March,the early June,the September)and different habitats(clay,sandy soil,under the forest)were studies,explore the variation rules and adaptive strategies of functional traits.The results of the study are as follows:The average P content of leaf was 2.1 g·kg-1,which was significantly higher than that of domestic(1.42 g·kg-1)and global P content(1.58 g kg-1).The average N content of leaf in the invasive plant Gaura parviflora Dougl.was 32.03 g·kg-1,the highest content in March was 57.87 g·kg-1,which was significantly higher than that of 753 species in China(18.63 g·kg-1).N content with leaf and root in March was significantly higher than in the latter two periods.Compared with the clay habitat,the variation pattern of the functional traits in the under-illuminated low light environment:the leaf area,specific leaf area,stomatal length,stomatal density,and leaf nitrogen content of Gaura parviflora Dougl.significantly increased.Leaf thickness,leaf vein density,veinlets density,and leaf P content were significantly reduced.The root density was significantly increased,and the root link length was significantly reduced.Compared with the clay habitat in the clay land,the variation pattern of the functional characters of the sand habitat is:the leaf area,stomatal length,stomatal density and distance between veins of the Gaura parviflora Dougl.significantly increase.Specific leaf area,leaf thickness,leaf vein density,and veinlets density were significantly reduced.The root density and the root link length were significantly increased.Fine root C content and N content were significantly reduced,and fine root P content was significantly increased.Gaura parviflora Dougl.adapts to different environments,and its functional traits have complicated variation rules,which is also one of the strategies for Gaura parviflora Dougl.to become a strong invasive plant.The research results provide information for the invasion mechanism of the invasive plant Gaura parviflora Dougl.