Effects of flooding on growth of seedlings of woody riparian species

Abstract

The effects of flooding on growth of seedlings were compared over a 7-month period (April—November) among six different woody species: Aesculus turbinata, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Fraxinus platypoda, Pterocarya rhoifolia, Pterostyrax hispida, and Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata. Flooding reduced the shoot length of F. platypoda, P. rhoifolia, C. japonicum, P. hispida, and Q. mongolica var. grosseserrata seedlings but did not affect that of A. turbinata seedlings. Among control seedlings, shoot elongation occurred once in A. turbinata and twice in F. platypoda and Q. mongolica var. grosseserrata; the other species continued to grow from April to August. Among the flooded plants of all species, shoot elongation occurred only once at the beginning of the growing season. On August 25, flooding significantly reduced the number of developed leaves as compared with control plants except for A. turbinata. In the flooded plants except for F. platypoda, leaf fall began on June 30; in controls, by contrast, the number of developed leaves increased until August 25. Flooding reduced the total dry weight increment in all species. The survival ratio of flooded plants after the experiment differed with species. All of the F. platypoda and A. turbinata seedlings survived the flooding treatment, while only 20% of P. hispida and 30% of Q. mongolica var. grosseserrata survived. Flooding seriously affected the growth of riparian pioneer species including P. rhoifolia, C. japonicum, P. hispida, and Q. mongolica var. grosseserrata. The effects of flooding on growth of the seedlings differed with the tree species because of differences in leaf-emergence pattern and physiological flood tolerance. The responses of tree seedlings to flooding reflected species habitats and growth patterns.