Alterations to biological soil crusts with alpine meadow retrogressive succession affect seeds germination of three plant species

	Alterations to biological soil crusts with alpine meadow retrogressive succession affect seeds germination of three plant species
	Li Yi-kang ; Ouyang Jing-zheng ; Lin Li ; Xu Xing-liang ; Zhang Fa-wei ; Du Yan-gong ; Liu Shu-li ; Cao Guang-min ; Han Fa
刊名	JOURNAL OF MOUNTAIN SCIENCE
	2016-11-01
英文摘要	Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are the important components of alpine meadow ecosystems. The extent and morphology of BSCs vary greatly with alpine meadow retrogressive succession due to grazing pressure. There is significant interest in impacts of crust composition on plant seed germination, especially in (semi-) arid environments. However, little is known about the influences of BSCs, and their associations with alpine meadow succession, on germination of typical alpine meadow vascular plant species. In a full factorial common-garden experiment, we studied effects of: (1) crust type, (2) seed position, and (3) surface texture on seed germination. We chose three typical alpine meadow plant species (i.e. Poa pratensis, Tibetia himalaica and Potentillen nivea), which belonged to different functional groups (graminoids, legumes, and forbs) and play important roles in all alpine meadow succession stages. Crust type and seed position influenced seed germination, and the inhibitory effects of BSCs depended on the crust type and seed species tested. The major factors influencing seed germination were BSC type, seed position, soil texture, and the interactions between BSC type and seed position; species and seed position; species and surface texture; and species, crust type, and surface texture. Cyanobacteria crust significantly inhibited germination of all seeds. Seed position also had a significant effect on seed germination (p < 0.001). Fewer seedlings germinated on the surface than below the surface, this was especially true for P. nivea. seeds within cyanobacteria and lichen crusts. Only germination rates of T. himalaica on the soil surface were significantly correlated with plant occurrence frequency within the alpine meadow community. The poor correlation for the other two species is possibly that they are perennials. Our results clearly demonstrated that BSCs can be biological filters during seed germination, depending on the BSC succession stage. Through their influences on seed germination, BSCs can strongly influence community assemblages throughout alpine meadow retrogressive succession.
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://210.75.249.4/handle/363003/6665]
专题	西北高原生物研究所_中国科学院西北高原生物研究所
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Li Yi-kang,Ouyang Jing-zheng,Lin Li,et al. Alterations to biological soil crusts with alpine meadow retrogressive succession affect seeds germination of three plant species[J]. JOURNAL OF MOUNTAIN SCIENCE,2016.
APA	Li Yi-kang.,Ouyang Jing-zheng.,Lin Li.,Xu Xing-liang.,Zhang Fa-wei.,...&Han Fa.(2016).Alterations to biological soil crusts with alpine meadow retrogressive succession affect seeds germination of three plant species.JOURNAL OF MOUNTAIN SCIENCE.
MLA	Li Yi-kang,et al."Alterations to biological soil crusts with alpine meadow retrogressive succession affect seeds germination of three plant species".JOURNAL OF MOUNTAIN SCIENCE (2016).