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The ecological adaptability of Phragmites australis to interactive effects of water level and salt stress in the Yellow River Delta

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Abstract

Soil salinity and waterlogging are two major environmental problems in estuarine wetlands. To prevent the typical wetland plants from degradation by soil salinization and salt waterlogging and more effectively use the plants to provide wetland ecosystem services, we examined the ecological adaptability of Phragmites australis, a characteristic plant species in the Yellow River Delta, to the interactive effects of water level and salt stress. The results showed that P. australis adapts to salt and water table stressed environments through slowing down the growth rate, maintaining the tiller number, and adjusting the biomass allocation of different organs. The highest plant height and the largest leaf area were at 0 cm water table treatment; the 0.5 % NaCl treatment increased the aboveground biomass; higher water table increased the fibrous root biomass allocation, but largely decreased the leaf biomass. The exclusion of toxic inorganic ions such as Na+ and Cl− and the accumulation of organic solutes are also important mechanisms to aid survival in saline wetlands. On average 35.1 % of Cl− and 53.9 % of Na+ accumulated in belowground organs. The study could provide fundamental guidance for wetland restoration projects and wetland sustainable use in coastal zones such as the Yellow River Delta.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Editor and two anonymous reviewers of this paper for their critical and helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We are grateful for support from the Project of the Cultivation Plan of Superior Discipline Talent Teams of Universities in Shandong Province: “the Coastal Resources and Environment team for Blue-Yellow Area,” the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31300325 and 41301052), the Program of Science and Technology Service Network Initiative, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KFJ-EW-STS-127). We extend our thanks to Dr. Jingtao Liu, Dr. Wenjun Xie, Dr. Jingkuan Sun and Dr. Ximei Zhao for their helpful work during this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai, 264003, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Bo Guan, Guangxuan Han & Guangmei Wang

  2. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, YICCAS, Yantai, 264003, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Bo Guan, Guangxuan Han & Guangmei Wang

  3. Resource and Environmental Engineering Ecology, Ludong University, Yantai, 264025, People’s Republic of China

    Junbao Yu

  4. Department of Environmental Sciences, College of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Bo Guan & Aixin Hou

  5. Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences Yellow River Delta, Binzhou University, Binzhou, 256603, People’s Republic of China

    Bo Guan, Fanzhu Qu & Jiangbao Xia

  6. Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130102, People’s Republic of China

    Xuehong Wang

Authors
  1. Bo Guan
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  2. Junbao Yu
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  3. Aixin Hou
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  4. Guangxuan Han
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  5. Guangmei Wang
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  6. Fanzhu Qu
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  7. Jiangbao Xia
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  8. Xuehong Wang
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Correspondence to Junbao Yu.

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Handling Editor: Kevin Murphy.

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Guan, B., Yu, J., Hou, A. et al. The ecological adaptability of Phragmites australis to interactive effects of water level and salt stress in the Yellow River Delta. Aquat Ecol 51, 107–116 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-016-9602-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-016-9602-3

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