title: High water level impedes the adaptation of Polygonum hydropiper to deep burial: responses of biomass allocation and root morphology.
abstract: Many studies have investigated the individual effects of sedimentation or inundation on the performance of wetland plants, but few have examined the combined influence of these processes. Wetland plants might show greater morphological plasticity in response to inundation than to sedimentation when these processes occur simultaneously since inundation can negate the negative effects of burial on plant growth. Here, we evaluate this hypothesis by assessing growth of the emergent macrophyte Polygonum hydropiper under flooding (0 and 40 cm) and sedimentation (0, 5, and 10 cm), separately and in combination. Deep burial and high water level each led to low oxidation-reduction potential, biomass (except for 5-cm burial), and growth of thick, short roots. These characteristics were generally more significant under high water level than under deep burial conditions. More biomass was allocated to stems in the deep burial treatments, but more to leaves in the high water level treatments. Additionally, biomass accumulation was lower and leaf mass ratio was higher in the 40-cm water level + 10-cm burial depth treatment than both separate effects. Our data indicate that inundation plays a more important role than sedimentation in determining plant morphology, suggesting hierarchical effects of environmental stressors on plant growth.
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan 410125, China [2] Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China [3] Department of Biology, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan 410125, China [2] Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Yong H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan 410125, China [2] Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Zheng M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: 1] Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan 410125, China [2] Dongting Lake Station for Wetland Ecosystem Research, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Yunnan University.
authors.forename: Dong D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Pan
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D018533:Biomass; D007101:Immersion; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D028502:Polygonum / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D014867:Water