Abstract
In desert habitats, sand burial is an important factor affecting germination of plant seeds and seedling growth. Xanthium spinosum has strong adaptability in arid desert areas, and is a common malignant invasive plant in Xinjiang, China. The effects of different sand burial depths on seed germination, seedling emergence, growth and biomass allocation were studied to provide a scientific basis for further control of X. spinosum. Six sand burial depths (1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 cm) were established to explore the response of X. spinosum seed germination and seedling growth to sand burial. The first emergence time, peak emergence time, emergence rate, seedling growth height, biomass and biomass distribution of X. spinosum seeds was significantly different at sand burial depths (P < 0.05). The X. spinosum seeds had the highest emergence rate (71.5%) at 1 cm sand burial and the maximum seedling height (7.1 cm). As sand burial depth increased, the emergence rate and seedling height gradually decreased. Emergence rate (12.25%) and seedling height (2.9 cm) were lowest at 9 cm sand burial. The root length at 9 cm depth (13.6 cm) was significantly higher than that at other sand depths (P < 0.05). The sand burial depth affected the biomass accumulation and distribution of X. spinosum. As sand burial depth increased, the root biomass and rhizome ratio increased, and the most deeply buried seedlings allocated more biomass for root growth. The optimal sand burial depth for seed germination and seedling growth of X. spinosum was 1–3 cm, and high burial depth (5–9 cm) was not conducive to the germination and growth of X. spinosum seedlings. For prevention and control of X. spinosum, we suggest deeply ploughing crops before sowing to ensure X. spinosum seeds are ploughed into a deep soil layer.
Highlights
In the life cycle of higher plants, the process of seed germination and seedling establishment is the most vulnerable stage for settlement and population establishment; comprises the period of highest sensitivity to habitat conditions; and affects the population number, regeneration rate and community composition [21]
Based on experiments with different sand burial depths, this study aims to (1) determine whether different sand burial depths have any influence on the growth of X. spinosum seedlings; (2) explore how different sand burial depths affect the biomass distribution pattern of X
At a sand depth of 1 cm, the initial emergence time was shortest at about 5 days, whereas at cm sand burial depth, the time required for seedlings to be unearthed was longest at about 22 days
Summary
In the life cycle of higher plants, the process of seed germination and seedling establishment is the most vulnerable stage for settlement and population establishment; comprises the period of highest sensitivity to habitat conditions; and affects the population number, regeneration rate and community composition [21]. Seed germination is controlled by a mixture of its own internal factors and Biology and Geography Science School, Yili Normal University, Full list of author information is available at the end of the article environmental factors [6]. Because of the strong wind–sand interaction, sand burial is often the primary factor affecting germination [7]. It affects plant reproduction and biomass allocation, and can even lead to plant death [10, 18, 23]. Different sand burial depths can produce selective pressures on seed germination and seedling morphology [26]. When the seeds are buried mmons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data
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