JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2014, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (04): 57-63.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.2014.04.011

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A study on the population dynamics and its biomass adjustment mechanisms of clonal plant Hippophae rhamnoides L. ssp. sinensis

LIU Ming1, TANG Cuiping2, GUO Feng3, WEI Yu3, LI Xiuzhai3, HE Bin2,LI Genqian2*   

  1. 1. Forestry Survey and Planning Institute of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an 710082, China;
    2.College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China;
    3. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
  • Online:2014-07-31 Published:2014-07-31

Abstract: Natural forest of Hippophae rhamnoides L. ssp. sinensis can maintain stability or persistence of population by adjusting clonal propagation, but we know little about the relationship between the dynamics of plantations and the adjustment of clonal propagation. Here, we used plantations of Hippophae rhamnoides L. ssp. sinensis as materials and used density of daughter ramet population as the indicator of propagation and survival to analyze the dynamic patterns and relationships of population density, biomass, age structure of population, and biomass investment and allocation of clonal organs, on the basis of survey data in the plot. The results showed that, when the age of clonal population rose, the percentage of daughter ramets in the total population increased from 0 to 95.5%. The density of daughter ramet population rose at the beginning then declined later, and become resilient at last. With the change of density of daughter ramets, the age structure of clone population changed from rising(stable)type into declining type, and finally recovered to rising type. However, there was an extremely positive correlation between density of daughter ramet population and biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ. The biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ presented the “prepositive effect” in the process of population recovery. These results showed that, the population regulated and restricted the birth or survival of daughter ramets by regulating biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ to change the population density of daughter ramets. The change process of density of daughter ramet population determined the density change of clonal population and the changing process of age structure. Based on the changing principle of the density of clonal population, the changing process of age structure, and the inherent relationship between the changing process of age structure and the regulation of biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ, the changing dynamics could be divided into three stages: the vigorous stage of clonal growth, in which biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ rose along with the increasing of population age, leading to the rising of the density of clonal population. The age structure in this stage is rising or stable. The declining stage of clonal growth, in which biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ declined along with the increasing of population age, leading to the decline of the density of clonal population. The age structure in this stage changed from rising(stable)type into declining type. The recovery stage of clonal growth, in which biomass investment and allocation of clonal organ recovered along with the increasing of population age, leading to the recovery of the density of clonal population. The age structure in this stage changed from declining type to rising type by a short recovery.

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