Abstract: Plant traits are influenced by evolutionary and environmental factors co-operating across varying spatial and temporal scales. While significant progress has been made in understanding aboveground-belowground trait relationships in terrestrial plants, little is known about how plant above- and belowground traits perform in marsh wetlands at large scales, particularly for traits related to clonal architecture and resource acquisition strategies. We measured above- and belowground traits of 15 occurring, common clonal plant species in nine marsh wetlands in northern China, and obtained data of soil physicochemical properties and climates. We found a crucial role of soil moisture in shaping traits of wetland clonal plants. Across the nine wetlands, all traits except those of leaves showed higher values in the high- than in the low-moisture areas in the low-precipitation areas, but this trend was reversed in the high-precipitation areas. In particular, clonal plants showed longer rhizome internodes and higher rhizome internode biomass in the higher-moisture areas, thereby displaying a guerrilla architecture. Moreover, most wetland clonal plants also exhibited larger specific leaf area, showing an acquisitive strategy of resource uptake. These findings deepen our understanding of the ecological strategies of wetland clonal species, and provide insights for the conservation and restoration of marsh wetland vegetation.

Key words: clonal growth, clonal architecture, ecological strategy, rhizomatous plants, wetland plants