Clonal growth adaptation of Carex brevicuspis to sediment deposition in Lake Dongting wetland

Sediment deposition is an important factor affecting the survival and growth of wetland plants. Clonal plants are one of the most important plants in the wetland ecosystem. At present, there are few studies on the response of clonal plant populations to different deposition rates in wetlands under natural hydrological conditions. In this study, Carex brevicuspis, a typical clonal plant in Lake Dongting wetland, was chosen to investigate its population response to different deposition rates (0, 2, 4, 6 cm/a, corresponding to control, low, medium, and high deposition rates, respectively) by field control experiments for three consecutive years. Results showed that sedimentation rate had a significant effect on the plant population density, with significantly lower population density in the sedimentation treatment. Plant population density decreased and the ratio of underground/above ground biomass increased with sedimentation rate increase. With the treatment of the highest sedimentation rate, the plant population has lowest density and the highest ratio of underground/aboveground biomass. Sediment burial promoted the formation of more short roots ( © 2024 by Journal of Lake Sciences.