PJB-2020-99
Effects of flooding depth and duration on seedling growth of Iris laevigata Fisch.
Meiying Wang
Abstract
Flooding depth and duration are key factors determining the flooding tolerance of species and thus exert important effects on revegetation of wetlands. Iris laevigata Fisch., a common species in the wetlands of Northeast China, has suffered severe degradation due to climate changes and human activities. However, limited information is available on the ecological response of I. laevigata to flooding events, and this impacts the successful establishment of the population in wetland revegetation sites. A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effects of flooding depth and duration on seedling growth of I. laevigata. We performed flooding procedures for 2, 4 and 6 weeks with waterlogged, partial and complete flooding. Results show that the optimal condition for biomass production or leaf area occurred at waterlogged treatments. An increased flooding duration and flooding depth negatively affected growth performance of the seedlings. Partial flooding did not influence the seedling growth compared with waterlogged conditions. Complete flooding led to the death of all seedlings after 4-week submergence. Total biomass under complete flooding treatments was decreased by 61-100%, and leaf area 54-100% in comparison to the results of control. Our results provide valuable information for the establishment of I. laevigata from seeds in wetland revegetation programs.
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