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The spatial pattern of the belowground bud bank and its responses to soil water status in the interdune lowlands of active sand dunes of Inner Mongolia, China
Author(s) -
Wu Jing,
Chen Xin,
Xu Lan,
Qian Jianqiang,
Liu Zhimin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
restoration ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1526-100X
pISSN - 1061-2971
DOI - 10.1111/rec.13223
Subject(s) - sand dune stabilization , tiller (botany) , vegetation (pathology) , rhizome , agronomy , environmental science , biology , ecology , medicine , pathology
Bud bank composition in interdune lowlands plays a key role in population colonization and vegetation restoration in active sand dune ecosystems. However, no studies have explicitly explored the spatial pattern of belowground bud banks in the interdune lowlands of active sand dune ecosystems and their response to soil moisture conditions. Therefore, this study investigated belowground bud banks and measured soil moisture contents in four interdune lowlands in the Horqin Sandy Land of northeastern Inner Mongolia. The density of total buds, rhizome buds, and tiller buds decreased significantly at the windward slope‐interdune and leeward slope‐interdune transitional zones ( p < 0.05), while the densities of both root‐collar buds and root‐sprouting buds were the highest at the edge of the interdune lowland. Rhizome buds (60–100%) were predominant over tiller buds in the windward slope transitional zone, while root‐collar buds (57–62%) and tiller buds (60–79%) were prominent in the leeward slope transitional zone. Furthermore, all bud types except the root‐collar bud had obvious water dependence. It was concluded that there is a significant difference in bud density between the different interdune lowland positions, and root‐collar buds were more resistant to water stress than the other bud banks. These survival strategies and responses may be important in the recovery of both artificial and sand‐fixing vegetation in semiarid regions of China.