Morphologic evolution features of mosses in artificial sand-fixing vegetation in the Tengger Desert
Morphological evolution features can reflect the adaptive strategy of plants to environmental changes.To understand the morphological variations of mosses in adapting to arid sandy area environment,we select three moss species(Bryum argenteum,Didymodon vinealis and Syntrichia caninervis)in the artificial stabilized sand vegetation area on the southestern edge of the Tengger Desert.Using the method of"space replacing time",we analyzed the morphological and quantitative characteristics of mosses at for levels:leaf,individual,population,and community,in different vegetation age zones(35,41 and 66 years).The result revealed certain differences in the morphological traits of the three moss species at the study levels as the vegetation age increased.Specifical-ly,D.vinealis exhibited a continuous decrease in leaf area,awns,and plant height,while S.caninervis and B.argenteum showed non-continuous variations.The patterns of variation may be to resource competition within and between species.Nevertheless,considering the overall morphological traits,mosses in the artificially stabi-lized sand vegetation area of the Tengger Desert generally undergo an evolutionary trend from smaller stem-leaf shoots with higher density to larger stem-leaf shoots with low density during the process of ecosystem restoration.This study provides insights into the morphological adaptation strategies of mosses during ecosystem restoration and serves as a scientific basis for species selection of mosses in ecosystem restoration.
mossesmorphological adaptationvegetation successionarid zone
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万方数据
