Breeding biology and incremental benefits of outcrossing for the restoration wildflower,Hedysarum boreale Nutt. (Fabaceae)

Northern sweetvetch (Hedysarum boreale Nutt.) is an herbaceous perennial legume of the Rocky Mountains, USA, whose seed is desired for rehabilitating degraded plant communities. Through experimental pollinations, the necessity of pollinators was shown by the failure of autogamy, despite stigmas first becoming receptive in the bud in close proximity to the dehiscing anthers. Nonetheless, the species proved to be self‐fertile, initiating as many fruits through selfing as outcrossing. Incremental benefits of outcrossing only later manifested in superior fruit development, seed maturation and seed germination. Farming of H. boreale can yield abundant viable seed if adequately visited by pollinating bees.     

Genetic diversity of Sulla genus (Hedysarea) and related species using Inter-simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers

Inter-simple Sequence Repeats (ISSRs) technique was designed to assess genetic diversity and relationships within the Mediterranean Hedysarea species belonging to the two genus Sulla and Hedysarum. These constitute an important phytogenetic patrimony able to promote forage production mainly in arid and semi arid areas. Eight ISSR primers generated a total of 96 polymorphic markers and revealed high polymorphism among the studied species. The genetic relationship results exhibit the distinction of Hedysarum membranaceum and Hedysarum aculeolatum from Sulla species. However, Hedysarum humile presents a molecular similarity with Sulla taxa revealing a common genetic basis. In addition, in agreement with morphological taxonomy, the two Sulla spinosissima and Sulla capitata species diverge molecularly. In Tunisia, the northern Sulla pallida and the southern S. spinosissima seem to be molecularly closely related suggesting their implication in breeding improvement program particularly in arid and semi arid areas in order to enhance forage production in the marginal area. Moreover, the great similarities exhibited between Sulla coronaria – the only cultivated Sulla species – and Sulla flexuosa can be exploited in a forage crop enhancement.     

毛乌素沙地杨柴灌木林恢复演替过程中土壤活性有机碳组分变化特征

土壤活性有机碳是土壤有机碳(SOC)的活性部分,是衡量土壤质量和健康状况的重要指标,能够反映植被恢复演替过程中土壤环境的早期变化。但在SOC贫瘠的沙地,长期恢复演替如何影响土壤活性有机碳组分尚不清楚。本研究以毛乌素沙地杨柴人工灌木林为研究对象,分别选取未造林(CK)与造林年限9 a、18 a和30 a的杨柴人工灌木林,探究毛乌素沙地杨柴人工灌木林恢复演替过程中土壤可溶性有机碳(DOC)、微生物量碳(MBC)、易氧化有机碳(ROC)和SOC变化规律。结果表明：(1)毛乌素沙地杨柴灌木林随恢复演替年限增加土壤固碳能力增强,但在恢复演替18 a时出现转折点,恢复演替18—30 a时土壤固碳速率相对减缓;(2)表层0—10 cm土壤DOC、MBC和ROC对恢复演替响应较为敏感,恢复演替过程中表层土壤活性有机碳各组分含量逐渐升高;(3)恢复演替年限并未对土壤活性有机碳占SOC比例产生显著影响,同时也未显著改变碳库活度。综上所述,毛乌素沙地杨柴灌木林恢复演替有助于土壤活性有机碳和SOC积累,但长期恢复演替是否持续对土壤活性有机碳固持产生积极作用仍需进一步研究。     

A new species of Hedysarum (Fabaceae) in Iran and other new Hedysarum records

Hedysarum al-shehbazii , a new species endemic to Iran, is described and illustrated. This species belongs to Hedysarum section Multicaulia . It is confined to the western part of Iran (Kermanshah Province), and is known from a single population close to the Iraq frontier, although possibly also growing in the adjoining eastern part of Iraq. The conservation status of this species is 'vulnerable' according to World Conservation Union (IUCN) criteria. In addition, H. varium and H. syricum are reported as new records from a single gathering close to the Turkish frontier. Moreover, H. kotschyi and H. pogonocarpum are transferred from Hedysarum section Crinifera to Hedysarum section Multicaulia .  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 155 , 505–512.     

Leucocyanidin reductase activity and accumulation of proanthocyanidins in developing legume tissues

Proanthocyanidin (PA) and anthocyanin accumulation and location in developing leaves, flowers, and seeds of the legumes Medicago sativa, Lotus japonicus, Lotus uliginosus, Hedysarum sulfurescens, and Robinia pseudacacia were investigated by quantitative measurements and by histological analysis after staining with 1% vanillin/HCl, butanol/HCl, or 50% HCl. M. sativa leaves and flowers, L. japonicus leaves, and R. pseudacacia flowers do not contain PAs, but seeds of all investigated species contain PAs. Anthocyanins are absent in the seed coats of all five species and in leaves of L. japonicus. PA content generally increases as a function of development in leaves, but declines in flowers. With the exception of H. sulfurescens, flower PAs are synthesized in the parenchyma cells of the standard petal, while anthocyanins are located in the neighboring epidermal cells. Leucocyanidin reductase (LCR) catalyzes the conversion of 2,3-trans-3,4-cis-leucocyanidin to (+)-catechin and is the first enzyme in the PA-specific pathway. LCR activity was only detected in PA-containing tissues and generally declined during tissue development.     

Assessment of Hedysarum theinum Krasnob. (Fabaceae) population status in Altai

The status of 22 Hedysarum theinum cenopopulations (CPs) located in subalpine and alpine vegetation belts in Kazakhstan and Altai Republic is assessed by a complex of traits. It is detected that conditions of the subalpine belt (12 CPs), where the point sum of organismal and population traits vary from high to average values, are the most favorable for this species. The pessimal state, characterized by the smallest values of most species parameters, is determined in the alpine vegetation belt at an altitude of about 2000 m above sea level in Rudnyi Altai (Kazakhstan) and a shrub community at the junction of alpine and subalpine belts on the edge of the H. theinum area in Russian Altai. A reactive-tolerant type of H. theinum population strategy is detected.     

贺兰山岩黄耆及其近缘种的分类学研究

依据植物野外和腊叶标本形态观察以及小叶脉序观察,对贺兰山岩黄耆(豆科)及其近缘种进行了分类学研究。结果表明:贺兰山岩黄耆及其近缘种之间较为稳定的差别体现在花器官的形态方面。贺兰山岩黄耆与短翼岩黄耆的主要区别特征是小苞片长为萼筒的1～2倍,旗瓣与龙骨瓣近等长,而后者的小苞片长为萼筒的0.5～0.8倍,旗瓣长为龙骨瓣的0.8倍。贺兰山岩黄耆与华北岩黄耆和费尔干岩黄耆的主要区别是翼瓣长为龙骨瓣的0.3～0.5倍,而后二者的翼瓣长均为龙骨瓣的0.7～0.8倍。在小叶脉序特征方面,贺兰山岩黄耆与短翼岩黄耆和华北岩黄耆近似,均为小叶一级脉纤细,二级脉不分支,二级脉环外有较多网结三级脉,具少量复合二级间脉或不明显,而费尔干岩黄耆小叶一级脉粗,二级脉多分支,二级脉环外有少量网结三级脉,具明显的简单二级间脉。此外,小叶脉序特征可能在岩黄耆属组间关系的探讨中发挥作用。     

Variations in the response of salt-stressed Rhizobium strains to betaines

A total of 15 rhizobial strains representing Rhizobium meliloti, Rhizobium japonicum, Rhizobium trifolii, Rhizobium leguminosarum, Rhizobium sp. (Sesbania rostrata) and Rhizobium sp. (Hedysarum coronarium), were studied with regard to growth rate under salt stress in defined liquid media. In the presence of inhibitory concentrations of NaCl, enhancement of growth resulting from added glycine betaine was observed for R. meliloti strains and Rhizobium sp. (Hedysarum coronarium) but not for other Rhizobium species. The concentration of glycine betaine required for maximal growth stimulation was very low (1 mM) in comparison with the osmolarity of the medium. The stimulation was shown to be independent of any specific solutes. Other related compounds like proline betaine, carnitine, choline, -butyrobetaine and pipecolate betaine were also effective compounds in restoring the growth rate of cells grown in medium of elevated osmolarity. High rate of glycine betaine uptake was demonstrated in R. meliloti cells grown in media of increased osmotic strength. The intracellular concentration of this solute was found to be 308 mM in 0.3 M NaCl-grown cells and 17 times lower in minimal medium-grown cells. Glycine betaine was used for growth under conditions of low osmolarity but could not serve as sole carbon or nitrogen source in medium of increased osmotic strength. Experiments with [¹⁴C]glycine betaine showed that this molecule was not metabolized by cells subjected to osmotic stress, whereas it was rapidly converted to dimethylglycine, sarcosine and glycine in minimal medium-grown cells.Abbreviations LAS lactate-aspartate-salts - LGS lactate-glutamate-salts - LS lactate-succinate - MSY mannitol-salts-yeast - YLS yeast-lactate-succinate     

INTERACTIONS FOR POLLINATION BETWEEN TWO SYNCHRONOUSLY BLOOMING HEDYSARUM SPECIES (FABACEAE) IN ALASKA

In interior and arctic Alaska, Hedysarum boreale and H. alpinum (Fabaceae) occur sympatrically, bloom nearly synchronously, have similar floral morphology and color, and require pollination by insects to set seed. I studied the pollination ecology of these species at a site where they occur sympatrically near Fairbanks, Alaska, to determine if pollination interactions play a role in maintaining overlapping blooming times. Seed set in each species was apparently neither enhanced nor reduced by the presence of the other species. Seed set of H. boreale was positively related to visitation rates by female Megachile giliae, the most abundant visitor to H. boreale. This bee showed no preference between the two Hedysarum species. However, worker Bombus flavifrons, the most abundant visitor to H. alpinum, preferred to forage on H. alpinum. The exhibition of strong floral constancy by visitors to the two Hedysarum species suggests that interspecific pollination may not be strong enough to cause divergence in blooming times. I found no evidence that the presence of one Hedysarum species enhances visitation to the other species. Instead, because visitation by worker B. flavifrons to H. alpinum was reduced on sympatric plots, H. alpinum may have to tolerate overlap with H. boreale to take advantage of worker B. flavifrons activity. The results of this study suggest that the two Hedysarum species may simply bloom when their best pollinators are most active.     

Responses to air temperature and soil moisture of growth of four dominant species on sand dunes of central Inner Mongolia

Little attention has been paid to how four dominant shrub species distributed in semi-arid areas respond to the combined effects of temperature and water supply. Seedlings of four species were grown in a glasshouse for eight weeks at air temperatures of 12.5/22.5, 15/25, 17.5/27.5, and 20/30°C (night/day) and with water supplies of 37.5, 75, 112.5, and 150 mm per month. When temperatures were 17.5/27.5 and 20/30°C relative growth rate (RGR) decreased for Artemisia ordosica, A. sphaerocephala, and Hedysarum laeve but not for Caragana korshinskii. RGR increased with increasing water availability for all four species and most treatments. In response to changing water availability, the RGR tended to correlate mainly with the physiological trait (net assimilation rate, NAR) and with dry matter allocation traits (below-ground to above-ground dry matter and leaf mass ratio). A higher ratio of below to above-ground dry matter for all four species under most treatments (0.3–1.7) and water-use efficiency (1.4–9.2 g kg⁻¹) may explain how all four species survive drought. Higher temperatures may be harmful to A. ordosica and A. sphaerocephala, under current precipitation levels (average 75 mm per month from mid-June to mid-August). These findings support the proposal that A. ordosica mixed with C. korshinskii will prove optimal for re-vegetation of degraded areas of the Ordos plateau. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Unripe red fruits may be aposematic

The unripe fruits of certain species are red. Some of these species disperse their seeds by wind (Nerium oleander, Anabasis articulata), others by adhering to animals with their spines (Emex spinosa) or prickles (Hedysarum spinosissimum). Certainly neither type uses red coloration as advertisement to attract the seed dispersing agents. Fleshy-fruited species (Rhamnus alaternus, Rubus sanguineus and Pistacia sp.), which disperse their seeds via frugivores, change fruit color from green to red while still unripe and then to black or dark blue upon ripening. The red color does not seem to function primarily in dispersal (unless red fruits form advertisement flags when there are already black ripe fruits on the plant) because the red unripe fruits of these species are poisonous, spiny, or unpalatable. The unripe red fruits of Nerium oleander are very poisonous, those of Rhamnus alaternus and Anabasis articulata are moderately poisonous, those of Rubus sanguineus are very sour, those of Pistacia sp. contain unpalatable resin and those of Emex spinosa and Hedysarum spinosissimum are prickly. We propose that these unripe red fruits are aposematic, protecting them from herbivory before seed maturation.     

煤粉尘沉降对鄂尔多斯高原优势植物羊柴幼苗生长的影响

随着鄂尔多斯煤矿开采的日益加剧,开采和运输过程中产生的煤粉尘沉降已成为影响当地植物生长的一个重要影响因子。通过近自然生境条件下的控制实验,以鄂尔多斯高原优势植物羊柴(Hedysarum laeve)为研究对象,探究不同梯度煤粉尘沉降量(0—3.5 mg/cm2)对其幼苗的光合生理特性和生长的影响。研究结果表明,随着煤粉尘沉降量的增加,羊柴叶片的气孔导度(Gs)、胞间二氧化碳浓度(Ci)、叶片水分饱和水汽压亏缺(Vpdl)等因子发生了不同程度的改变,导致净光合速率(Pn)和蒸腾速率(Tr)降低,使得幼苗的植株高度、叶片数、地上和地下生物量降低。因而,积累到一定程度的煤粉尘颗粒通过影响叶片气孔的水汽交换过程和降低叶片表面的光照强度,影响了叶片的光合生理过程,从而抑制了羊柴幼苗的生长。     

Relationships between the variability of electrophoretic profiles of seed polypeptides and ecological-geographic conditions of the habitats of populations of Hedysarum theinum Krasnob. (Fabaceae)

Relationships between the range of variation of electrophoretic profiles of seed polypeptides and ecological-phytocenotic conditions of the habitats of thirteen populations of Hedysarum theinum Krasnob. (tea sweetvetch) were studied. The variability of the seed polypeptide profiles were lower in H. theinum populations from the alpine zone than in those from the forest zone. The forest zone also included populations with the extreme values of variation. Populations from the least elevated parts of the alpine zone were characterized by low variability.     

近10年青海湖东沙地人工植被群落特征

植物治沙是高寒沙地植被重建与生态恢复的重要措施,人工植被群落特征的研究揭示了植被对高寒沙地生态环境的适应性与改良性,有益于筛选高寒沙地治沙物种。2008—2017年,通过对青海湖湖东沙地人工治理沙丘上的11种人工植被(沙棘(Hippophae rhamnoides)、乌柳(Salix cheilophila)、樟子松(Pinus sylvestris)、小叶杨(Populus simonii)、柠条(Caragana korshinskii)、沙蒿(Artemisia desertorum)、花棒(Hedysarum scoparium)、沙地柏(Sabina vulgaris)、柽柳(Tamarix chinensis)、青海云杉(Picea crassifolia)和金露梅(Potentilla fruticosa))进行植被调查和群落特征分析,结果显示:(1)除柽柳、金露梅之外,各人工物种均能保持80%以上的当年成活率和50%以上的保存率,总盖度以每年6.4%—8.8%的速度增加,乌柳、小叶杨、柠条和花棒林地群落的丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀度指数相对较高,而沙棘和樟子松的群落优势度较高;(2)前3—5年通常为各物种成活与生长的关键期,也是群落形成与多样性增加的快速期;(3)沙棘、乌柳、樟子松、花棒和小叶杨的群落防风固沙效益和土壤水分与养分的改良效益显著,为高寒沙地典型优良的固沙物种。     

Population strategies in severe environments: alpine plants in the northwestern Caucasus

Abstract. This study attempts to show a differentiation into strategy types among plant species of four alpine communities in the northwestern Caucasus, Russia. Four groups of population characteristics (traits) were examined: above-ground biomass, seed size, seed yield and occurrence of a persistent seed bank. In addition, values for relative growth rate and a morphology index were estimated. Agglomerative Cluster Analysis and Principal Component Analysis were applied to a data set with 42 species from these communities and six species characteristics. In the Geranium gymnocaulon meadow, the most productive community, large gaps occur created by wild boars and bears. Here, the response of 13 species to disturbance was also analysed. Strategy types were approached both according to Grime: ‘competitive’, ‘ruderal’, ‘stress-tolerating’ and according to Ramensky, Rabotnov and Romanovsky: ‘violent’ ≈ dominant (V), ‘explerent’ ≈ explorative (E) and ‘patient’ ≈ endurant (P). Differentiation into strategy types was more obvious in productive alpine grasslands than in lichen heaths and snowbed communities. The grassland dominants Festuca varia, Geranium gymnocaulon and Hedysarum caucasicum showed a more or less ‘violent’ strategy. Species approaching an Estrategy, e.g. Matricaria caucasica, Sibbaldia procumbens and Gnaphalium supinum, were also found in the grasslands but prevailed in the snowbed communities. Species with a ‘patient’ strategy prevailed in the lichen heaths. We conclude that plant strategy types are well-differentiated, this is also seen in plant communities occurring under severe high-mountain conditions. We also suggest that the approaches by Grime and Ramensky/Rabotnov/Romanovsky are not so similar as has been assumed earlier and that the R/R/R types are better differentiated and ecologically better interpretable. We emphasize the gradient character of strategy ‘types’ and would characterize plant species by the degree of adaptation to conditions: (1) from small seed size and large persistent seed bank to large seed size and absence of a seed bank; (2) from high to low biomass and seed production, with relative growth rate as a less important partially correlated trait.     

Sphagnum divinum (sp. nov.) and S. medium Limpr. and their relationship to S. magellanicum Brid.

Sphagnum magellanicum has been viewed as being a predominantly circumpolar species in the northern hemisphere, but it occurs in the southern hemisphere and was originally described from the southern parts of Chile. It is an ecologically important species in mire ecosystems and has been extensively used as a model to study processes of growth, carbon sequestration and peat decomposition. Molecular and experimental studies have, however, revealed genetic structure within S. magellanicum, and morphological differences associated with these genetic groups. Here we describe Sphagnum divinum in Sphagnum subgenus Sphagnum (Sphagnaceae, Bryophyta) as a new species, based on molecular and morphological evidence. Sphagnum medium is reinstated as a distinct species and is epitypified. Consequently, a new species concept of S. magellanicum is presented including an epitypification. Important morphological characters to separate these three species in the field and under the microscope are presented. Ecology and distribution differ among the species; S. divinium has a wide habitat range including mire margin, forested peatlands and moist heaths, and a circumpolar distribution around the northern hemisphere. Sphagnum medium seems to be more restricted to ombrotrophic mire expanse habitats and shows an amphi-Atlantic distribution in the northern hemisphere. Sphagnum magellanicum has a very broad ecological niche in peatlands and is found in most mire habitats in Tierra del Fuego on the southern tip of South America.     

中国岩黄耆属(豆科)种皮纹饰及其系统学意义

利用扫描电镜观察了国产岩黄耆属(Hedysarum L.)18个种(含3个居群)的种皮纹饰。结果表明: 岩黄耆属种皮纹饰性状在种的划分上具有重要的分类学意义。依据种皮纹饰特性, 大致分为光滑型和粗糙型2大类型以及断棱状、嚼烂状、龟纹状、网纹状与细网状5个亚型。依据其划分的类型及亚型, 种皮纹饰呈现出从断棱状、细网状到光滑状的演化趋势, 从而阐明了种皮纹饰在岩黄耆属系统演化上的重要意义。