Abstract
On Ordos plateau, a semi-arid, desertified area in China, sand burial is a common stress factor for plants. The extent to which sand burial occurs is heterogeneous and unpredictable in space and in time. Therefore, clonal fragments (i.e., interconnected ramets of a clonal plant) often experience partial sand burial, with some ramets buried in sand while the rest may remain unburied. It was hypothesized that clonal fragments are able to benefit from clonal integration, in case they experience partial sand burial. A pot experiment was conducted with Potentilla anserina, a stoloniferous herb often found on Ordos plateau. We used clonal fragments consisting of four interconnected ramets. In the experiment, the two proximal (older) ramets were unburied while the two distal (younger) ramets were either unburied (control) or buried with a 2, 4 or 6 cm deep layer of sand (burial treatments). The stolon connection between the proximal and the distal ramets was either severed or left intact. Stolon severing dramatically decreased the survival of buried ramets. Stolon severing and sand burial had significant effects on plant performance in terms of biomass production, number of leaves and leaf area. A cost–benefit analysis based on performance measures shows that the proximal ramets supported their connected distal ramets and did not incur any cost from this resource export. These results suggest that clonal integration, which is one of the functionally most important consequences of clonal growth, contributes significantly to our test species' capacity to withstand partial sand burial on Ordos plateau, a semi-arid and desertified area of China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alpert, P. (1999) Clonal integration in Fragaria chiloensis differs between populations: ramets from grassland are selfish. Oecologia 120, 69-76.
Alpert, P. and Mooney, H.A. (1986) Resource sharing among ramets in the clonal herb, Fragaria chiloensis. Oecologia 70, 227-233.
Baldwin, K.A. and Maun, M.A. (1983) Microenvironment of Lake Huron sand dunes. Can. J. Bot. 61, 241-255.
Brown, J.F. (1997) Effects of experimental burial on survival, growth, and resource allocation of three species of dune plants. J. Ecol. 85, 151-158.
de Kroon, H. and van Groenendael, J. (1997) The Ecology and Evolution of Clonal Plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.
de Kroon, H., Fransen, B. and van Rheenen, J.W.A. (1996) High levels of inter-ramet water translocation in two rhizomatous Carex species, as quantified by deuterium labelling. Oecologia 106, 73-84.
D'Hertefeldt, B. and van der Putten, W.H. (1998) Physiological integration of the clonal plant Carex arenaria and its response to soil-borne pathogens. Oikos 81, 229-237.
Disraeli, D.J. (1984) The effects of sand deposits on the growth and morphology of Ammophila breviligulata. J. Ecol. 72, 145-154.
Dong, M. (1995) Morphological responses to local light conditions in clonal herbs from contrasting habitats, and their modification due to physiological integration. Oecologia 110, 282-288.
Dong, M. and Alaten, B. (1999) Clonal plasticity in response to rhizome severing and heterogeneous resource supply in the rhizomatous grass Psammochloa villosa in an Inner Mongolia dune, China. Plant Ecol. 141, 53-58.
Eldred, R.A. and Maun, M.A. (1982) A multivariate approach to the problem of decline in vigour of Ammophila. Can. J. Bot. 60, 1371-1380.
Evans, J.P. (1991) The effects of resource integration on fitness related traits in a clonal dune perennial, Hydrocotyle bonariensis. Oecologia 86, 268-275.
Evans, J.P. and Whitney, S. (1992) Clonal integration across a salt gradient by a non-halophyte, Hydrocotyle bonariensis (Apiaceae). Am. J. Bot. 79, 1344-1347.
Harris, D. and Davy, A.J. (1987) Seedling growth in Elymus farctus after episodes of burial with sand. Ann. Bot. 60, 587-593.
Hartnett, D.C. and Bazzaz, F.A. (1983) Physiological integration among intraclonal ramets in Solidago canadensis. Ecology 64, 779-788.
Huber, H. (1996) Plasticity of internodes and petioles of prostrate and erect Potentilla species. Funct. Ecol. 10, 401-409.
Huber, H., Fijan, A. and During, H.J. (1998) A comparative study of spacer plasticity in erect and stoloniferous herbs. Oikos 81, 576-586.
Hutchings, M.J. and de Kroon, H. (1994) Foraging in plants: the role of morphological plasticity in resource acquisition. Adv. Ecol. Res. 25, 159-238.
Jónsdóttir, I.S. and Callaghan, T.V. (1989) Localized defoliation and the movement of 14C-photo-assimilates between tillers of Carex bigelowii. Oikos 54, 211-219.
Jónsdóttir, I.S. and Watson, M.A. (1997) Extensive physiological integration: an adaptive trait in resource-poor environments? In H. de Kroon and J. van Groenendael (eds) Ecology and Evolution of Clonal Plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp. 109-136.
Klimes, L., Klimesova, J. and Osbornova, J. (1993) Regeneration capacity and carbohydrate reserves in a clonal plant Rumes alpinus: effect of burial. Vegetatio 109, 153-160.
Liu, Z. (1985) Lowland meadow vegetation of Inner Mongolia. In Inner Mongolia Comprehensive Inspection Team of CAS (ed.) Vegetation of Inner Mongolia. Science Press, Beijing, pp. 729-816 (in Chinese).
Liu, Z. and Zhu, Z. (1985) Vegetation area of Inner Mongolia. In Inner Mongolia Comprehensive Inspection Team of CAS (ed.) Vegetation of Inner Mongolia. Science Press, Beijing, pp. 817-853 (in Chinese).
Ma, Y. (1989) Flora of Inner Mongolia. Vol. 3, 2nd edn. Inner Mongolia People Press, Hohhut (in Chinese).
Marshall, C. (1990) Source-sink relations of interconnected ramets. In J. van Groenendael and H. de Kroon (eds) Clonal Growth in Plants: Regulation and Function. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp. 23-41.
Maun, M.A. (1998) Adaptations of plants to burial in coastal sand dunes. Can. J. Bot. 76, 713-738.
Maun, M.A. and Lapierre, J. (1984) The effects of burial by sand on Ammophila breviligulata. J. Ecol. 72, 827-839.
Ong, C.K. and Marshall, C. (1979) The growth and survival of severely-shaded tillers in Lolium perenne L. Ann. Bot. 43, 147-155.
Pitelka, L.F. and Ashmun, J.W. (1985) Physiology and integration of ramets in clonal plants. In J.B.G. Jackson, L.W. Buss and R.E. Cook (eds) The Population Biology and Evolution of Clonal Organisms. Yale University Press, New Haven, pp. 399-435.
Price, E.A.C. and Hutchings, M.J. (1996) The effects of competition on growth and form in Glechoma hederacea. Oikos 75, 279-290.
Rousi, A. (1965) Biosystematic studies on the species aggregate Potentilla anserina L. Ann. Bot. Fenn. 2, 47-112.
Salzman, A.G. and Parker, M.A. (1985) Neighbours ameliorate local salinity stress for a rhizomatous plant in a heterogeneous environment. Oecologia, 65, 273-277.
SAS Institute (1985) SAS/STAT Guide for personal computers, Version 6 edn. SAS Institute Inc., Cary.
Slade, A.J. and Hutchings, M.J. (1987a) An analysis of the costs and benefits of physiological integration between ramets in the clonal perennial herb Glechoma hederacea. Oecologia 73, 425-431.
Slade, A.J. and Hutchings, M.J. (1987b) Clonal integration and plasticity in foraging behaviour in Glechoma hederacea. J. Ecol. 75, 1023-1036.
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1981) Biometry. 2nd edn. Freeman, New York.
Stuefer, J.F. (1995) Separating the effects of assimilate and water integration in clonal fragments by the use of steam-girdling. Abstracta Bot. 19, 75-81.
Stuefer, J.F., de Kroon, H. and During, H.J. (1996) Exploitation of environmental heterogeneity by spatial division of labour in a clonal plant. Funct. Ecol. 10, 328-334.
Stuefer, J.F., During, H.J. and de Kroon, H. (1994) High benefits of clonal integration in two stoloniferous species in response to heterogeneous light environments. J. Ecol. 82, 511-518.
Stuefer, J.F. and Huber, H. (1998) Differential effects of light quantity and spectral light quality on growth, morphology and development of two stoloniferous Potentilla species. Oecologia 117, 1-8.
Sykes, M.T. and Wilson, J.B. (1990) An experimental investigation into the response of New Zealand sand dune species to different depths of burial sand. Acta Bot. Neerl. 39, 171-181.
Thompson, L. and Harper, J.L. (1988) The effect of grasses on the quality of transmitted radiation and its influence on the growth of white clover Trifolium repens. Oecologia 75, 343-347.
van der Putten, W.H., van Dijk, C. and Peters, B.A.M. (1993) Plant-specific soil-borne diseases contribute to succession in foredune vegetation. Nature 362, 53-56.
van Kleunen, M. and Stuefer, J.F. (1999) Quantifying the effects of reciprocal assimilate and water translocation in a clonal plant by the use of steam-girdling. Oikos 85, 135-145.
Zhang, J. and Maun, M.A. (1990) Effects of sand burial on seed germination, seedling emergence, survival, and growth of Agropyron psammophilum. Can. J. Bot. 68, 304-310.
Zhang, X. (1994) Ecological background, principles and optimised models for rangeland management of the Maowusu sandland. Acta Phytoecol. Sin. 18, 1-16 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yu, F., Chen, Y. & Dong, M. Clonal integration enhances survival and performance of Potentilla anserina, suffering from partial sand burial on Ordos plateau, China. Evolutionary Ecology 15, 303–318 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016032831038
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016032831038