JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2021, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (2): 103-110.doi: 10.12302/j.issn.1000-2006.201909016

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Morphological characteristics and wind dispersal characteristics of samara of common Acer species

WU Hong1(), YAN Liping2, LI Chengzhong1,*(), XIA Qun1, ZHOU Xia1, ZHAO Baoyuan1   

  1. 1. Landscape and Horticulture College,Jiangsu Agri-animal Husbandry Vocational College,Taizhou 225300,China
    2. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Forest Tree Genetic Improvement, Shandong Provincial Academy of Forestry, Ji’nan 250014,China
  • Received:2019-09-08 Accepted:2020-10-29 Online:2021-03-30 Published:2021-04-09
  • Contact: LI Chengzhong E-mail:wh02gs@126.com;55942099@qq.com

Abstract:

【Objective】In order to explore the correlation between samara characteristics and wind dispersal characteristics and provide theoretical reference for further study on the mechanism of wind dispersal and population expansion of Acer samaras, characteristics of 15 Acer species samaras were studied.【Method】The 1 000-grain-weight, seed length, seed width, wing length, wing width, angle of samara , ratio of seed length to width, ratio of seed length to wing length and the dispersal characteristics (settlement velocity and horizontal dispersal distance) of 15 Acer samara were studied by simulation experiments, and the correlation between samara characteristics and wind dispersal characteristics was compared.【Result】① The angle of samara had the greatest influence on settlement velocity and horizontal dispersal distance, while the seed width had the weakest influence. ② The samara settlement velocity ranged from 69.14 to 224.06 cm/s; the slowest was Acer flabellatum and the fastest was Acer negundo. The horizontal dispersal distance also varied, and the farthest was Acer negundo and the nearest was Acer flabellatum. ③ The samara settlement velocity was positively correlated with seed length, wing length, wing width, ratio of seed length to width, and ratio of seed length to wing length, and negatively correlated with the angle of samara and seed width. The horizontal dispersal distance was negatively correlated with the angle of samara, seed length, wing length, wing width, ratio of seed length to width, and ratio of seed length to wing length, but positively correlated with seed width. The horizontal dispersal distance was negatively correlated with the samara settlement velocity. Samara settlement velocity and horizontal dispersal distance were affected by many morphological indexes. ④ Principal component analysis of eight samara characters of 15 species of Acer showed that the cumulative contribution rate of the first three principal components was 82.911%. The genetic relationship of 15 Acer species was examined via cluster analysis of eight traits, when euclidean distance is 10, 15 Acer species can be divided into 4 groups.【Conclusion】The correlation analysis showed that the effects of samara morphological characteristics on settlement velocity were as follows: angle of samara > ratio of seed length to wing length > seed length > wing length > ratio of seed length to width > wing width > seed width. The horizontal dispersal distance of samara is restricted by many factors. The 1 000 seed mass, angle of samara, and ratio of seed length to wing length can be used as important factors for the classification of Acer.

Key words: Acer, samara characters, settlement velocity, horizontal dispersal distance, principal component analysis, cluster analysis

CLC Number: