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Journal of Desert Research ›› 2021, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 87-99.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2021.00035

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Effects of single small rainfall events (≤5 mm) on the growth and reproduction of four typical desert annual herbaceous plants

Yijun Ren1(), Lulu Xi1, Qianqian Gou1,2, Bing Song1, Guohua Wang1,3()   

  1. 1.College of Geographical Sciences,Shanxi Normal University,Linfen 041000,Shanxi,China
    2.Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification /, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    3.Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
  • Received:2020-11-30 Revised:2021-03-25 Online:2021-07-27 Published:2021-07-27
  • Contact: Guohua Wang

Abstract:

We selected four typically annual gramineous plant Setaria viridis, Chloris virgata, and chenopodiaceous plant Bassia dasyphylla, Salsola ruthenica as study subjects in a typical desert-oasis ecotone in the Hexi Corridor, and simulated the reduction of small rainfall events during jointing stage / leaf unfolding stage, flowering stage and fruit ripening stage, and analyzed the effects of a single small rainfall on the growth and reproduction of annual herbaceous plants. The results of the study showed that: (1) A single small rainfall reduction in the jointing stage / leaf unfolding stage led to significant changes in the root growth of four annual herbaceous plants, which were mainly manifested as the root length was reduced significantly, and the longitudinal growth was inhibited, but the underground biomass was significantly increased, and mainly due to lateral root growth. (2) A single small rainfall at different growth stages decreased, and the number of leaves and above-ground biomass of four annual herbaceous plants decreased but did not reach a significant level, only when small rainfall was reduced during the jointing stage / leaf unfolding stage, the plant height decreased significantly. (3) A single small rainfall at different growth stages decreased ,and the root-shoot ratio increased, but the value of the root-shoot ratio was still in the low range of 0.196-0.506, and the distribution of underground biomass was still far less than the above-ground biomass, which indicated that annual herb plants used more biomass for the growth of above-ground. (4) A single small rainfall reduction during the jointing stage/leaf unfolding stage led to the jointing stage/ leaf unfolding stage to be prolonged, and the flowering stage and fruit ripening stage were delayed, and the duration was shortened, and led to the reduction of annual herbaceous plants seed biomass ultimately.

Key words: annual herbaceous plants, different growth stages, small rainfall events, growth, reproduction

CLC Number: