Clonal plants display guerrilla architecture and acquisitive strategy in high-moisture areas of marsh wetlands in northern China

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtaf078

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtaf078

Clonal plants display guerrilla architecture and acquisitive strategy in high-moisture areas of marsh wetlands in northern China

Yi-Fan Liu^1#, Chun-Lin Wang^1#, Tao Fang¹, Fei-Fan Shao¹, Yu-Han Chen¹, Rong Wang², Wen-Jun Huang³, Fang-Li Luo^1,4*, Yao-Jun Zhu^5,6

¹School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
²Beijing Eco-mind Technology Co., Ltd, Beijing 100085, China
³Sichuan Academy of Forestry, Chengdu 610081, China
⁴The key Laboratory of Ecological Protection in the Yellow River Basin of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing 100083, China
⁵Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Research Institute of Wetland, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, 100091, China
⁶Zhanjiang National Research Station for Mangrove Wetland Ecosystem, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524448, China

^#These authors contributed equally to this work.
^*Correspondence: Fang-Li Luo
E-mail: ecoluofangli@bjfu.edu.cn
Tel & Fax: + 86 10 62336293

Online:2025-06-05 Published:2025-06-05
Supported by:
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32371584, 32071525), the Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Project (2019FY100600), and the Science and Technology Program from Forestry Administration of Guangdong Province (2023KYXM09).

Abstract

Abstract: Plant traits arise due to evolutionary and environmental drivers operating across different spatial and temporal scales. Significant progress has been made in understanding the relationships between above- and belowground traits in terrestrial plants. However, little is known about the performance of these traits, as well as the clonal architecture and resource acquisition strategy of clonal plants on a large scale in marsh wetlands. In this study, we measured the above- and belowground traits of 15 commonly occurring clonal plant species and soil physicochemical properties, and obtained climatic data across nine marsh wetlands in northern China. We identified synergistic or trade-off relationships among the soil nutrients, interactions between precipitation and humidity, as well as, the crucial role of soil moisture levels in shaping wetland clonal plant traits. Plant traits exhibited superior performance under higher soil moisture conditions, but this trend was reversed in high-precipitation regions. Most wetland clonal plants followed acquisitive strategy, and under higher soil moisture conditions, belowground traits tended to exhibit a guerrilla clonal architecture. Our study improves our understanding of the ecological strategies used by wetland clonal plants under heterogeneous moisture conditions. Importantly, it provides crucial insights that will help restore and conserve wetlands in arid and semi-arid regions of northern China.

Key words: clonal plant, ecological strategy, marsh wetland, plant trait, soil moisture

Yi-Fan Liu, Chun-Lin Wang, Tao Fang, Fei-Fan Shao, Yu-Han Chen, Rong Wang, Wen-Jun Huang, Fang-Li Luo, Yao-Jun Zhu. Clonal plants display guerrilla architecture and acquisitive strategy in high-moisture areas of marsh wetlands in northern China[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf078.

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Clonal plants display guerrilla architecture and acquisitive strategy in high-moisture areas of marsh wetlands in northern China

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