Study On Functional Traits And Growth Analysis Of Eight Xerophytic Shrubs

In arid environment,plants respond to the changes of growing environment by regulating plant functional traits related to water loss and assimilate accumulation.Due to the large surface gully and weak soil water storage capacity of the Loess Plateau,plant growth is severely restricted by water resources.In view of the strong drought resistance and adversity resistance of xerophytic shrubs,desert plants in adjacent areas were introduced to this area for planting in ecological construction and greening projects in the Loess Plateau.Therefore,in order to understand the adaptability of desert plants in the Loess Plateau,excellent species for ecological construction and greening were screened out.In this study,based on the functional traits of plant roots,stems and leaves,we systematically studied growth and development of plant roots,stems and leaves of Prunus mongolica,Nitraria tangutoru,Ammopiptanthus mongolicus,Hedysarum Mongolicum,Caragana Korshinskii,Zygophyllum xanthaxylum,Artemisia sphaerocephala and Hedysarum scoparium,and analyzed the relationship between functional traits of various organs and plant growth rate.The main results are as follows:1.The biomass allocation ratio of root,stem and leaf organs of eight xerophytic shrubs was greatly affected by plant growth years,and variation in RGR between species was small.The biomass allocation ratio of the same species changed due to the difference of individual size.The root-shoot ratio(R/S)of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus and Caragana Korshinskii increased with the accumulation of plant biomass(P<0.05),while that of Prunus mongolica,Nitraria tangutorum,Artemisia sphaerocephala and Hedysarum scoparium decreased with the accumulation of plant biomass(P<0.05).2.The growth rate of eight xerophytic shrubs is in the order: Hedysarum scoparium > Artemisia sphaerocephala > Zygophyllum xanthoxylon > Caragana Korshinskii > Hedysarum Mongolicum > Ammopiptanthus mongolicus > Nitrariatangutorum > Prunus mongolica.3.Although eight xerophytic shrubs belong to different species and absolute biomass has very great difference,there is a common allometric growth index between above-ground biomass and underground biomass allocation,indicating that the biomass distribution of the eight xerophytic shrubs has inherent commonality.4.Model C showed that variation in RGR between species were directly affected by NAR and LAR,and were indirectly affected by Time,LMR and SLA.