Physiological Responses of Cenchrus incertus to Abiotic Stress in Different Habitats
Cenchrus incertus,a major invasive plant in northern China,poses a significant threat to local ecosystems,agriculture,and animal husbandry.This study aimed to investigate the physiological plasticity of Cenchrus incertus across three habitats:urban greening,farmland,and sandy land.Seeds col-lected from these habitats were cultivated in a common garden experiment to assess the growth parameters and physiological indices of resulting plants in various habitats at different developmental stages and under abiotic stress conditions.The results showed variations in fresh weight,chlorophyll content,malondialde-hyde(MDA)content,superoxide anion content,catalase(CAT)activity,superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity,peroxidase(POD)activity,and proline content of Cenchrus incertus plants from different habitats across seedling,vegetative,and reproduction stages.Under both drought and salt stress,CAT and SOD activities were higher compared to normal conditions in all habitat-derived plants.Membership function analysis revealed the highest drought tolerance in plants originating from urban greening and the highest salt tolerance in those from farmland.These findings suggest that Cenchrus incertus has developed heritable physiological plasticity during adaptation to diverse habitats.This plasticity,potentially mediated by the regulation of antioxidant enzyme system,plays a crucial role in enabling Cenchrus incertus to thrive across various invasive environments.
Cenchrus incertusInvasive plantPhysiological plasticityAbiotic stressAntioxidant enzyme system