Floating Mat Formation Makes <i>Zizania latifolia</i> More Competitive under the Conditions of Continuous Significant Water Level Rise
Ji-Hui Wen,
Bing-Yao Li,
Hong-Yu Xiao,
Cai-Ying Gong,
An-Guo Gao,
Yan-Hong Wang,
De-Liang Li,
Hong-Yuan Zeng,
You-Zhi Li,
Gui-Xiang Yuan,
Hui Fu,
Ai-Ping Wu
Affiliations
Ji-Hui Wen
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Bing-Yao Li
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Hong-Yu Xiao
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Cai-Ying Gong
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
An-Guo Gao
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Yan-Hong Wang
State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
De-Liang Li
Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Featured Aquatic Resources Utilization, College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Hong-Yuan Zeng
Hunan Institute of Microbiology, Changsha 410009, China
You-Zhi Li
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Gui-Xiang Yuan
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Hui Fu
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Ai-Ping Wu
Ecology Department, College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Rural Ecosystem Health in Dongting Lake Area, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Water level rise is considered an environmental filter for the growth and reproduction of aquatic plants in lakes. Some emergent macrophytes can form floating mats, enabling them to escape from the negative effects of deep water. However, an understanding of which species can be uprooted and form floating mats easily and what factors affect these tendencies remains greatly elusive. We conducted an experiment to determine whether the monodominance of Zizania latifolia in the emergent vegetation community in Lake Erhai was related to its floating mat formation ability and to try to find the reasons for its floating mat formation ability during the continuous increase in water level over the past few decades. Our results showed that both the frequency and biomass proportion of Z. latifolia were greater among the plants on the floating mats. Furthermore, Z. latifolia was more likely to be uprooted than the other three previously dominant emergent species due to its smaller angle between the plant and the horizontal plane, rather than the root:shoot or volume:mass ratios. The dominance of Z. latifolia in the emergent community in Lake Erhai is due to its easier ability to become uprooted, allowing it to outperform other emergent species and become the single dominant emergent species under the environmental filter of deep water. The ability to uproot and form floating mats may be a competitive survival strategy for emergent species under the conditions of continuous significant water level rise.
