Interspecific and intraspecific interactions between salt marsh plants: integrating the effects of environmental factors and density on plant performance

There has been much debate about the role of plant interactions in the structure and function of vegetation communities. Here the results of a pot experiment with controlled environments are described where three environmental variables (nutrients, sediment type and waterlogging) were manipulated factorially to identify their effects on the growth and intensity of interactions occurring between Spartina anglica and Puccinellia maritima. The two species were grown in split-plot planting treatments, representing intraspecific and interspecific addition series experiments, to determine individual and interactive effects of environmental factors and plant interactions on plant biomass.
Above-ground growth of both species involved interactions between the environmental and planting treatments, while below-ground, environmental factors affected the biomass irrespective of planting treatments. It was suggested that this difference in growth response is evidence that in our experiment plant interactions between the two species occur primarily at the above-ground level.
The intensity of plant interactions varied in a number of ways. First, interactions between Spartina and Puccinellia were distinctly asymmetrical, Puccinellia exerting a competitive effect on Spartina, with no reciprocal effect, and with a facilitative effect of Spartina on Puccinellia in low nutrient conditions. Second, the interactions varied in intensity in different environmental conditions. Interspecific competitive effects of Puccinellia on Spartina were more intense in conditions favourable to growth of Puccinellia and reduced or non-existent in environments with more abiotic stress. Third, intraspecific competition was found to be less intense for both species than interspecific interactions. Finally, the intensity of plant interactions involving both species was more intense above ground than below ground, with a disproportionate reduction in the intensity of interspecific competition below relative to above ground in treatments with less productive sediments and greater immersion. This is interpreted as reflecting a potential mechanism by which Spartina may be able to evade competitive neighbours.     

水淹对克隆植物空心莲子草种内关系的影响

为检验“水淹程度可以改变植物种内关系的类型和强度”的假说, 将克隆植物空心莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)的3种不同密度的植株(每盆种植1、4或16株)置于4种不同的水淹处理下(水位分别为-20 (不水淹)、0、20或40 cm), 研究不同水淹程度对空心莲子草种内关系的影响。随着植株密度和水淹程度的增加, 空心莲子草的生长显著减慢, 但密度效应在不同的水淹处理下显著不同。在不发生水淹的情况下, 植株密度对生长的负面(竞争)效应最强; 在水位为0和20 cm的情况下, 植株密度对生长的效应仍为负面的, 但影响强度相对减小; 而在水位为40 cm的情况下, 空心莲子草植株的生物量随着植株密度的增大而倾向于增加。进一步分析相对邻体效应时发现, 随着水淹程度的增加, 相对邻体效应显著增加, 并且数值从负值(不水淹)逐渐变为正值(40 cm水位下)。这些结果支持胁迫梯度假说, 表明水淹可以影响植物的种内关系, 即随着水淹程度的增加, 植物种内竞争作用减弱, 而易化作用增强。     

Aggregative Root Placement: A Feature During Interspecific Competition in Inland Sand-Dune Habitats

Segregation of roots is frequently observed in competing root systems. However, recently, intensified root growth in response to a neighbouring plant has been described in pot experiments [Gersani M, Brown J S, O'Brien E E, Maina G M and Abramsky Z 2001. J. Ecol. 89, 660–669]. This paper examines whether intense root growth towards a neighbour (aggregation) plays a role in competitive interactions between plant species from open nutrient-poor mid-European sand ecosystems. In a controlled field-competition experiment, root distribution patterns of intra- and interspecific pairs as well as single control plants of Corynephorus canescens, Festuca psammophila, Hieracium pilosella, Hypochoeris radicata and Conyza canadensis were investigated after one growing season. Under intraspecific competition plants tended to segregate their root systems, while under interspecific competition most species tended to aggregate roots towards their neighbours even at the expense of root development at the opposite competition-free side of the target. Preference of a root aggregation strategy over the occupation of competition-free soil in interspecific competition emphasizes the importance of contesting between individuals in relation to mere resource acquisition. It is suggested that in the presence of a competitor the plants might use root aggregation as a defensive reaction to maintain a strong competitive response and exclusive access to the resources of already occupied soil volumes.     

Effect of plant density on competitiveness of Brassica napus, Sinapis alba and S. arvensis under water stress conditions

Under Mediterranean climate, oilseed rape is subjected especially to the competition of weeds with respect to water. Herbicides registered for this crop do not effectively control species of the same family, in particular Sinapis alba and Sinapis arvensis. Moreover, there are no results of the effect of plant density on the competitiveness of these species. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if the competitiveness of the species varies according to the total density. The experiment was carried out in pots under greenhouse conditions, according to a replacement series method. Plant densities tested were 2, 4 and 8 plants per pot. The results of the replacement series diagram and those of relative crowding coefficients showed that Brassica napus was the most competitive, whatever the density is. This classification is explained primarily by leaf area. Indeed, the intraspecific competition due to B. napus has affected more its leaf area than the interspecific competition. Conversely, the intraspecific competition due to S. arvensis has less affected its leaf area than the interspecific competition. Regarding S. alba, the intraspecific competition effect was less severe than the interspecific competition effect due to B. napus and more severe than the interspecific competition effect due to S. arvensis on S. alba     

喜旱莲子草和接骨草竞争对模拟增温的响应

研究外来入侵植物与本地植物种竞争对气候变暖的响应, 对于预测未来气候变化背景下入侵植物的入侵趋势、理解其入侵机制以及筛选生态替代种具有重要的意义。以入侵我国的外来植物喜旱莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)和本地植物种接骨草(Sambucus chinensis)为材料, 通过两种植物单栽、纯栽和混栽, 采用红外辐射加热器模拟增温, 研究了两种植物竞争对模拟增温的响应。结果表明: (1)在模拟增温期间(2013年5-12月), 增温组空气平均温度比不增温组提高了0.47 ℃, 相对湿度降低了1.87%; (2)混栽的喜旱莲子草除根冠比与单栽无显著差异外, 其余各生物量和根系形态指标均显著低于单栽喜旱莲子草; 无竞争、种间竞争和种内竞争三种竞争间, 接骨草除根冠比、细根与总根生物量比、比根长和比根表面积无显著差异外, 其余指标均呈现无竞争>种间竞争>种内竞争的趋势; (3)无竞争、种间竞争和种内竞争三种条件下, 喜旱莲子草各指标在增温和不增温处理间差异均不显著, 而接骨草总生物量和根生物量在无竞争和种间竞争条件下增温处理均显著低于不增温处理, 在种内竞争条件下则相反; (4)增温使接骨草的相对拥挤系数降低, 接骨草对温度升高反应敏感, 而喜旱莲子草则表现出一定的适应性。由此推测, 在中度遮阴陆生生境中, 接骨草有望成为喜旱莲子草生物替代控制的材料。     

Integrated response of intercropped maize and potatoes to heterogeneous nutrients and crop neighbours

Background and Aims

In communities, plants often simultaneously interact with intra- and inter-specific neighbours and heterogeneous nutrients. How plants respond under these conditions and then affect the structure and function of communities remain important questions.

Methods

Maize (Zea mays L.) was intercropped with potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.). In the field experiment, we applied fertilizer both homogeneously and heterogeneously under monocropping and intercropping conditions. The heterogeneous nutrient treatment in intercropping was designed with different fertilizer placements, at intraspecific and interspecific rows, respectively. In the pot experiment, crops were grown under both homogeneous and heterogeneous nitrogen conditions with single plant, intraspecific and interspecific competition. Shoot and root biomass and yield were measured to analyse crop performance.

Results

In the field experiment, the heterogeneous nitrogen, compared with the homogenous one, enhanced the performance of the intercropped crop. Importantly, this effect of heterogeneous nitrogen was greater when fertilizer was applied at interspecific rows, rather than at intraspecific rows. Moreover, in pot experiments, the root foraging precision of the two crops was increased by interspecific neighbours, but only that of potatoes was increased by intraspecific neighbours.

Conclusions

The integrated responses of plants to heterogeneous neighbours and nutrients depend on the position of nutrient-rich patches, which deepen our understanding of the function of plant diversity, and show that fertilizer placement within multi-cropping systems merits more attention. Moreover, the enhanced utilization of heterogeneous nitrogen could drive overyielding in multi-cropping systems.     

太白红杉种内和种间竞争研究

采用逐步扩大范围的方法确定影响对象木 (Objectivetree) 的最佳竞争范围, 利用单木竞争指数的改进模型对太白红杉 (Larixchinensis) 种内和种间竞争强度进行了定量分析, 并讨论了不同竞争强度下太白红杉的形态变化。结果表明 :随对象木胸径的增大, 由于太白红杉种群自然稀疏过程中密度调节作用, 植株距离增加, 种内竞争强度降低 ;太白红杉主要分布于亚高山地段, 群落内其它物种较少, 个体普遍较小, 结果种间竞争相对较弱, 种内与种间竞争关系顺序为 :太白红杉 太白红杉 >巴山冷杉 (Abiesfargesii) 太白红杉 >牛皮桦 (Betulaplatyphylla) 太白红杉 >其它树种 太白红杉 ;竞争强度和对象木胸径的关系服从幂函数关系 (CI =AD-B), 当太白红杉胸径达到 35cm以上时, 竞争强度几乎没有变化, 所得的预测模型能很好地预测太白红杉种内和种间的竞争强度 ;不同竞争强度下, 太白红杉主茎各层的分枝角度、总分枝数、当年生枝条长、平均枝长和活枝数均表现出显著的差异。表明采用逐步扩大范围的方法能有效地确定竞争木范围, 较好地反应太白红杉种内和种间的竞争关系。同时, 太白红杉通过自身形态变化, 提高了对光的截获能力和对不同竞争强度的适应能力。     

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE IN BRASSICA RAPA (CRUCIFERAE)

Growth chamber experiments with rapid-cycling Brassica rapa were designed to estimate the signs and magnitudes of the genetic correlations for plant performance in each of three conditions: no-competition (isolated plants), intraspecific competition, and interspecific competition with Raphanus sativa. Biomass and flower number were highest in the no-competition treatment, intermediate under intraspecific competition, and lowest under interspecific competition. Significant among-family variation in biomass and flower number was found under each regime. The mean family performance (biomass or flower number) in the no-competition treatment was significantly positively correlated with the performance in only one of the competitive treatments (for biomass in the intraspecific treatment). For both biomass and flower number there was a significant positive correlation between family means in the intra- and interspecific regimes. These correlations were greater in magnitude than those for the comparison between no-competition and competition (intra- or interspecific) treatments. Our results suggest that the importance of traits affecting plant performance is environment-dependent; the performance of a family grown without competition was a poor predictor of performance with competition, while the performance of families grown under intra- and interspecific competition was positively correlated.     

Effects of spatial aggregation on competition,complementarity and resource use

Abstract The spatial distributions of most species are aggregated to varying degrees. A limited number of studies have examined the effects of spatial aggregation on interspecific and intraspecific interactions, generally finding that spatial aggregation can enhance coexistence between species by reducing the capacity for interspecific competition. Less well studied are the effects of spatial aggregation on complementarity (i.e. differences in resource use strategies) and resource use. Our primary hypothesis was that spatial aggregation reduces the complementarity between species owing to: (i) less interspecific interactions as a result of spatial separation; and (ii) less differences between species as a result of phenotypic plasticity. We further postulate that these negative effects of spatial aggregation on complementarity will reduce resource use by the community. Here we test these hypotheses in a pot experiment in which we applied three levels of spatial aggregation to three sets of two‐species mixtures of herbaceous perennial plant species from native grasslands of south‐eastern Australia. Both root and shoot biomass were significantly affected by spatial aggregation, although the nature of these affects depended upon the species involved, and the relative strengths of interspecific versus intraspecific competition. Complementarity between species in the distribution of their green leaves decreased significantly as spatial aggregation increased for one of the species mixtures, providing some evidence in support of our hypothesis that aggregation reduces complementarity through phenotypic plasticity. Spatial aggregation also altered light interception and use of soil moisture resources, although these effects were dependent on the species involved. We suggest that clear effects of spatial aggregation on complementarity and resource use may be obscured by the idiosyncratic way in which neighbour identity influences plant growth and hence plant size, limiting the ability to generalize, at the community level, any underlying effects of spatial pattern on ecological process.     

Effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza on inter- and intraspecific competition of two grassland species

We were interested in the role of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) in the competition between plants of different sizes. A pot experiment of factorial design was established, in which AM root colonization and competition were used as treatments. Five-week-old Prunella vulgaris seedlings were chosen as target plants (i.e. plants whose response to competition was studied) and the following (13 replicates of each) were used as neighbours: (1) a large, 10-week-old P. vulgaris, (2) two P. vulgaris seedlings, and (3) a large, 10-week-old Fragaria vesca. In the experiment where small neighbours were grown together with small target plants, competition did not reduce target plant weight significantly, compared to the other two treatments. The competitive effects of large neighbours were significant, regardless of species (both older neighbours reduced the weights of target plants similarly), but there was a clear difference between intra- and interspecific competition when plants were mycorrhizal. In intraspecific competition with a large neighbour, the target plant shoot weight was reduced 24% when inoculated with AM. Thus, AM amplified rather than balanced intraspecific competition. In interspecific competition with old F. vesca, the shoot weights of target plants were 22% greater when inoculated with AM than when non-mycorrhizal. The results showed that, for given soil condition, AM might increase species diversity by increasing competitive intraspecific suppression and decreasing the interspecific suppression of small plants by larger neighbours.     

Pollination outcomes reveal negative density‐dependence coupled with interspecific facilitation among plants

Pollination is thought to be under positive density‐dependence, destabilising plant coexistence by conferring fitness disadvantages to rare species. Such disadvantage is exacerbated by interspecific competition but can be mitigated by facilitation and intraspecific competition. However, pollinator scarcity should enhance intraspecific plant competition and impose disadvantage on common over rare species (negative density‐dependence, NDD). We assessed pollination proxies (visitation rate, pollen receipt, pollen tubes) in a generalised plant community and related them to conspecific and heterospecific density, expecting NDD and interspecific facilitation due to the natural pollinator scarcity. Contrary to usual expectations, all proxies indicated strong intraspecific competition for common plants. Moreover interspecific facilitation prevailed and was stronger for rare than for common plants. Both NDD and interspecific facilitation were modulated by specialisation, floral display and pollinator group. The combination of intraspecific competition and interspecific facilitation fosters plant coexistence, suggesting that pollination can be a niche axis maintaining plant diversity.     

Commonness and rarity of alien and native plant species – the relative roles of intraspecific competition and plant–soil feedback

The success of invasive alien and common native species may be explained by the same underlying mechanisms. Differences in intraspecific competition as well as differences in plant–soil feedback have been put forward as potential determinants of plant success. We teased apart the relative roles of competition and plant–soil feedback in a greenhouse experiment with 30 common and rare alien and native species from nine plant families. We tested whether plant biomass decreased less for common than rare species, regardless of origin, when grown at higher relative frequencies (1, 3 or 6 out of 9 plants per pot) in a community and in soil previously conditioned by the same species at different frequencies (0, 1, 3 or 6 out of 9 plants per pot) in an orthogonal design for these two factors. Plant survival decreased slightly, but non‐significantly, for all species when grown in soil previously occupied by conspecifics. Among surviving plants, we found a decrease in biomass with increasing intraspecific competition across all species (regardless of origin or commonness), and alien species were more negatively affected by previous high plant frequency than native species, but only marginally significantly so. Our findings suggest that, while intraspecific competition limits individual biomass in a density‐dependent manner, these effects do not depend on species origin or commonness. Notably, alien species but not natives showed a decrease in performance when grown in soil pre‐conditioned with a higher frequency of conspecifics. In conclusion, soil‐borne pathogen accumulation might be weak in its effects on plant performance compared to intraspecific competition, with neither being clearly linked to species commonness.     

Using coloured roots to study root interaction and competition in intercropped legumes and non-legumes

Aims Root interactions between neighbour plants represent a fundamental aspect of the competitive dynamics in pure stand and mixed cropping systems. The comprehension of such phenomena places big methodological challenges, and still needs clarification. The objectives of this work were (i) to test if a species with coloured roots can be used to examine the interaction in a legume-non-legume intercropping system; (ii) to verify the importance of initial root growth on the successive root development of mixture component plants; (iii) to test if the root interaction in the shallow layers has consequences for deep root growth and (iv) to compare the effect of intraspecific and interspecific competition on root development and biomass growth.Methods A detailed study on root growth and interaction was carried out using rhizotron tubes where two legume species were grown in pure stands or were intercropped with red beet, a variety of Beta vulgaris L. with clear red roots. Within the rhizotrons, the three species were grown either without competitors, with two plants of the same species to measure intraspecific competition or with one legume and one red beet plant to study interspecific competition. The use of mixtures where one component has clearly coloured roots, together with several scalar measurements of root depth and proliferation, allowed the measurement of the root system of each species when grown in the mixtures.Important findings The use of rhizotron tubes coupled with species with coloured roots represented a valuable method to study the belowground interaction in mixed cropping systems. The initial root growth was a very important feature for the subsequent dominance of a species and it was not related to seed dimension. Initial root growth was also important because the root interactions in the shallower soil layers were found to influence the root growth in deeper soil. The root system of the red beet showed much faster and deeper growth than that of the legumes, and made red beet the dominant component in the mixtures while the legume root system was confined to the shallower soil layer. Intraspecific competition was well tolerated by the legumes, but it was limiting for the highly competitive red beet. The outcome of root interaction between neighbour plants was confirmed to be species-specific as it changed according to the intensity of the competitive effect/response of each species of the mixture: both legumes were slightly affected by the intraspecific and highly affected by interspecific competition while red beet was more affected by intraspecific competition but strongly dominant when intercropped with legumes.     

滇西北高原典型湿地湖滨带优势植物种子繁殖对增温的响应

基于IPCC对未来大气增温的预测,采用开顶式生长室(OTC)增温技术,以不增温为对照,研究滇西北高原典型湿地纳帕海湖滨带优势植物水葱和黑三棱在大气增温2.0和3.5℃处理下种子的繁殖特征.结果表明:大气增温对植物结实率影响显著,但存在种间差异.其中,增温对水葱的结实率有促进作用;黑三棱结实率在增温2.0℃处理下显著下降,但在增温3.5℃处理下又恢复到对照水平.增温促进了2种植物穗的生长,在增温2.0、3.5℃处理下水葱的穗长分别增加82.9%、89.0%,小穗数分别增加133.3%、150.0%,每株穗生物量分别增加了10.1%、89.6%,每株穗生物量占总生物量的比例分别增加79.5%、409.3%;在增温2.0、3.5℃处理下,黑三棱穗长分别增加66.1%、95.2%,每株穗生物量占总生物量的比例分别增加878.8%、1052.6%.增温显著增加了水葱和黑三棱每穗种子产量,在增温2.0、3.5℃处理下,水葱每穗种子产量分别增加33.7%、58.3%,黑三棱每穗种子产量分别显著增加3.4%、69.5%.在增温2.0、3.5℃处理下水葱种子长分别增加5.4%、6.9%,种子长宽比分别增大9.1%、5.3%;而增温对黑三棱的种子形态无显著影响.最高温和最低温是影响2种植物种子繁殖的主要温度因子.温度增高引起的生长季提前、营养生长期延长以及有机物积累量增加,为植物繁殖扩散提供了充足的物质和能量积累,可能是2种植物在增温条件下繁殖能力提高的原因.     

垂直方向磷素竞争对杉木根系生长及生物量分配的影响

针对自然环境中有效磷养分主要分布于土壤表层而容易导致植物根系激烈竞争的问题,选择同一杉木(Cunninghamia lanceolata)无性系幼苗为研究对象,采用水平方向空间狭小而垂直方向空间大的室内盆栽模拟装置,以单株种植为对照,构建双株种植的竞争处理,通过设置3个供磷水平:不供磷处理(0 mg/kg KH_2PO_4)、低磷处理(6 mg/kg KH_2PO_4)和正常供磷处理(12 mg/kg KH_2PO_4),采用破坏性试验方式收获,分别在试验的前期(50 d)、中期(100 d)和后期(150 d)测定不同处理条件下杉木幼苗根系生物量与根系形态的变化,研究邻株杉木根系在垂直方向上对有限磷素资源的竞争策略。结果表明:竞争处理和供磷水平对杉木幼苗根系长度、平均直径等形态指标的影响存在交互作用(P0.05),对杉木幼苗生物量分配、比根长等指标的影响均不存在明显的交互作用(P0.05)。竞争处理中杉木根系形态增量均明显高于非竞争处理的单株幼苗,且随着胁迫时间的增加,根系形态增量均呈现显著的上升趋势,其中在胁迫中期和后期的增量明显高于前期,且邻株竞争处理明显提高了杉木的比根长,提升了根系觅磷的能力;随着供磷水平的提高,根表面积和根体积增量大体上呈现先上升后下降的趋势。与非竞争处理相比,竞争条件下杉木地上部生物积累量差异不明显,而根系生物量、根冠比均低于非竞争处理的单株幼苗。     

Spatial aggregation facilitates coexistence and diversity of wild plant species in field margins

European agri-environment schemes encourage farmers to establish sown field margin strips to protect and enhance wild plant diversity. However, plant diversity in such wild plant sowings based on seed mixtures is often low due to the high competitiveness of few, common species. Here we analysed whether intraspecific aggregation could enhance the performance of less competitive species, and how plant performance is influenced by the number of species in a mixture. We focused on inter- and intraspecific competition between six agricultural wild plant species (Centaurea cyanus, Calendula arvensis, Melilotus officinalis, Poa annua, Bromus mollis, Medicago lupulina), and tested (i) two different seeding patterns (intraspecifically aggregated vs. randomly dispersed) and (ii) three different species mixtures (monocultures, three-species, and six-species mixtures). Plant performance was measured in terms of number of individuals, biomass per individual, and biomass per m². Intraspecific aggregation resulted in higher numbers of individuals of all species, while mixtures generated lower numbers of individuals. The performance of plant species differed depending on their position in the competitive hierarchy. Competitively weak species suffered much less from intraspecific than interspecific competition in terms of biomass, and the competitively weakest species became even excluded in the most species rich and randomly dispersed sowings with high interspecific competition. In conclusion, the performance of wild plant species was influenced by both seeding pattern and number of species in a mixture. Intraspecific aggregation enabled the coexistence of competitively weak species by reducing interspecific competitive exclusion processes. Consequently, agri-environmental schemes designed to preserve and enhance biodiversity should consider small-scale processes influencing the distribution and abundance of plants, and develop new agricultural sowing technologies to cultivate competitively weak and endangered wild plant species.     

疏叶骆驼刺根系对土壤异质性和种间竞争的响应

近年来, 植物根系对土壤异质性的响应和植物根系之间的相互作用一直是研究的热点。过去的研究主要是针对一年生短命植物进行的, 而且多是在人工控制的温室条件下进行的。而对于多年生植物根系对养分异质性和竞争的综合作用研究很少。该文对塔里木盆地南缘多年生植物疏叶骆驼刺(Alhagi sparsifolia)根系生长对养分异质性和竞争条件的响应途径与适应策略进行了研究, 结果表明: (1)在无竞争的条件下, 疏叶骆驼刺根系优先向空间大的地方生长, 即使另一侧有养分斑块存在, 其根系也向着空间大的一侧生长; (2)在有竞争的条件下, 疏叶骆驼刺根系生长依然是优先占领空间大的一侧, 但是竞争者的存在抑制了疏叶骆驼刺的生长, 导致其枝叶生物量和根系生物量都明显减少(p < 0.01), 而养分斑块的存在促进了疏叶骆驼刺根系的生长; (3)疏叶骆驼刺根系的生长不仅需要养分, 也需要足够的空间, 空间比养分更重要; (4)有竞争者存在的时候, 两株植物的根系都先长向靠近竞争者一侧的空间, 即先占据“共有空间”。研究结果对理解植物根系觅食行为和植物对环境的适应策略有重要意义。     

Effects of elevated temperature on chemistry of an invasive plant,its native congener and their herbivores

增温对莲子草属入侵植物与本地同属植物化学物质组成和天敌昆虫的影响 气候变暖影响植物生长和生理活动,然而气候变暖如何改变入侵植物化学物质组成并间接影响其与植食性昆虫互作还少有报道。本研究以入侵植物空心莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)及其本地同属 植物莲子草(A. sessilis)为对象,探究增温对其叶片化学物质组成的影响并进一步检验这些变化如何影响两 种植食性昆虫虾钳菜披龟甲(Cassida piperata)和斜纹夜蛾(Spodoptera litura)的生长发育。通过模拟增温实验,探究增温对空心莲子草和莲子草13个叶片化学物质的影响,并用其饲养两种植食性昆虫,测量它们的生长和发育时间。研究结果显示,增温显著改变了空心莲子草和莲子草叶化学物质组成;增温降低了空心莲子草叶片氮浓度,增加了莲子草叶片总黄酮和总酚浓度;增温对其它营养物质(果糖、蔗糖、总可溶性糖和淀粉)随物种和具体物质发生改变;采用增温处理的莲子草饲养的虾钳菜披龟甲蛹重和斜纹夜蛾幼虫重量,以及增温处理的空心莲子草饲养的斜纹夜蛾幼虫重量,显著低于对照不增温处理;此外,采用增温处理的莲子草饲养的斜纹夜蛾幼虫发育时间显著延长。这些结果表明,增温对植物化学物质组成的影响随物种发生变化,增温对入侵植物和本地植物化学物质组成的影响间接改变了其与植食性昆虫的互作关系。     

Differential effect of inter- and intraspecific competition on the performance of invasive and native Taraxacum species

Inter- and intraspecific competitive abilities are significant determinants of invasive success and the ecological impact of non-native plants. We tested two major hypotheses on the competitive ability of invasive species using invasive (Taraxacum officinale) and native (T. platycarpum) dandelions: differential interspecific competitive ability between invasive and native species and the kin recognition of invasive species. We collected seeds from two field sites where the two dandelion species occurred nearby. Plants were grown alone, with kin (plants from the same maternal genotype) or strangers (plants from different populations) of the same species, or with different species in a growth chamber, and the performance at the early developmental stage between species and treatments was compared. The invasive dandelions outcompeted the native dandelions when competing against each other, although no difference between species was detected without competition or with intraspecific competition. Populations of native species responded to interspecific competition differently. The effect of kinship on plant performance differed between the tested populations in both species. A population produced more biomass than the other populations when grown with a stranger, and this trend was manifested more in native species. Our results support the hypothesis that invasive plants have better competitive ability than native plants, which potentially contributes to the establishment and the range expansion of T. officinale in the introduced range. Although kin recognition is expected to evolve in invasive species, the competitive ability of populations rather than kinship seems to affect plant growth of invasive T. officinale under intraspecific competition.     

意大利苍耳与乌拉尔甘草种间竞争能力比较

意大利苍耳已经开始入侵乌拉尔甘草农田,然而对其入侵后果目前知之甚少。通过研究意大利苍耳与乌拉尔甘草的种间竞争关系,以期为意大利苍耳对乌拉尔甘草农田生态系统的入侵能力及入侵后果的评估提供试验依据。模拟了甘草农田的土壤水肥条件,采用取代试验法,设置意大利苍耳与乌拉尔甘草的单种种植和混种种植2种种植模式,待意大利苍耳生育期结束后进行收获,分别比较了该两种植物的个体生长及生物量积累在单种种植与混种种植两种处理间的差异,并比较单种和混种模式下乌拉尔甘草的地下器官中甘草酸含量的差别,通过计算相对产量、相对竞争强度和竞争攻击系数来比较该两种植物种间竞争能力的相对强弱。结果表明：与单种模式相比,混种模式下意大利苍耳个体生长的形态学性状和有性繁殖能力均有显著增加,其株高、冠幅和种子数量较单种处理分别增加了13%、27%和56%。而乌拉尔甘草的个体生长及克隆繁殖能力均显著降低,其根瘤的形成也受到显著的抑制,混种处理的乌拉尔甘草的株高、冠幅、根总长度、根总表面积、根平均直径以及根瘤数量比单种处理分别下降了35%、45%、55%、63%、19%和76%。单种处理下每株甘草根状茎的平均条数为3条,而与意大利苍耳混种后,其根状茎的发育被完全抑制。与单种处理相比,混种处理中的意大利苍耳生物量积累均显著的增加了,其中根、茎、叶、果实及总生物量与单种模式相比分别增加了84%、73%、84%、73%和77%,而混种模式却极显著降低了乌拉尔甘草生物量和地下器官甘草酸含量的积累,使其根、茎、叶、总生物量以及甘草酸含量与单种模式相比分别下降了72%、80%、65%、71%和63%。混种模式中的意大利苍耳相对产量（RY_a）大于1,而乌拉尔甘草相对产量（RY_b）小于1,表明意大利苍耳受到邻株同种其他个体的种内竞争压力大于来自邻株乌拉尔甘草的种间竞争压力,而乌拉尔甘草受到邻株同种其他个体的种内竞争压力则小于来自邻株意大利苍耳的种间竞争压力。混种模式中的意大利苍耳相对竞争强度（RCI_a）小于0,其竞争攻击系数（A_q）大于0,而乌拉尔甘草的相对竞争强度（RCI_b）则在0-1之间,其竞争攻击系数（A_b）小于0,表明在该两种植物的混生群落中,乌拉尔甘草的竞争能力弱于意大利苍耳。总体来看,在二者混生的群落中,意大利苍耳在竞争中占据明显的优势地位,对乌拉尔甘草的产量和品质均造成强烈的负面影响。