Abstract
Groundwater level is crucial for wetland plant growth and reproduction, but the extent of its effect on plant growth can vary along with changed precipitation and temperature at different seasons. In this context, we investigated the effect of two groundwater levels (10 cm vs. 20 cm depth) on growth and reproductive parameters of Carex cinerascens, a dominant plant species in the Poyang Lake wetland, during three seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) and during two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). Carex cinerascens showed low stem number, height, and individual and population biomass in summer compared to spring and autumn. 10 cm groundwater level was overall more suitable for plant growth resulting in higher stem height and biomass. However, the interactive effect between groundwater level and season clearly demonstrated that the effect of groundwater level on plant growth occurred mainly in autumn. After the withering of the plant population in summer, we observed that C. cinerascens growth recovered in autumn to similar values observed in spring only with 10 cm groundwater level. Consequently, we could deduce that lowering groundwater level in the studied Poyang Lake wetland will negatively impact C. cinerascens regeneration and growth particularly during the second growth cycle occurring in autumn. Additionally, our results showed that, independently of the season and groundwater level, population biomass of C. cinerascens was lower during drier year. Altogether, our findings suggest that water limitation due to both reduction in precipitation and decreased groundwater level during the year can strongly impact plant communities.
Highlights
Wetlands are important ecosystems that provide a diverse range of habitats for plants and animals (Dawson, Berry, & Kampa, 2013; Neckles, Murkin, & Cooper, 2010), and ensure several key ecosystem functions such as water purification, water storage, and shoreline stabilization (Costanza et al, 1997; Dawson et al, 2013)
To our knowledge, the extent to which variations in groundwater level could affect plant parameters during distinct plant growing periods in relation to varying meteorological conditions remains poorly studied. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the effect of two groundwater levels (10 cm vs. 20 cm depth) over three seasons on the growth and reproductive parameters of Carex cinerascens Kük., a dominant plant species in the Poyang Lake wetland (China), during two consecutive years (2015 and 2016)
We hypothesized that: (a) C. cinerascens growth parameters are greater in spring and autumn compared to summer; (b) 10 cm groundwater level favors both C. cinerascens growth and reproductive parameters as compared to 20 cm groundwater level; (c) the effect of groundwater level is stronger in autumn than in spring and summer because lower autumn precipitation interacts with groundwater level to limit plant growth in the Poyang Lake wetland
Summary
Wetlands are important ecosystems that provide a diverse range of habitats for plants and animals (Dawson, Berry, & Kampa, 2013; Neckles, Murkin, & Cooper, 2010), and ensure several key ecosystem functions such as water purification, water storage, and shoreline stabilization (Costanza et al, 1997; Dawson et al, 2013). Climatic parameters like temperature and precipitation can strongly vary across the seasons (Xu et al, 2015) and some previous studies reported that the main hydrologic factors for plant growth and vegetation distribution differ between spring and autumn (Dai et al, 2019; Runhaar et al, 1997). To our knowledge, the extent to which variations in groundwater level could affect plant parameters during distinct plant growing periods (i.e., spring vs autumn) in relation to varying meteorological conditions remains poorly studied To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the effect of two groundwater levels (10 cm vs 20 cm depth) over three seasons (spring, summer, and autumn) on the growth and reproductive parameters of Carex cinerascens Kük., a dominant plant species in the Poyang Lake wetland (China), during two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). We hypothesized that: (a) C. cinerascens growth parameters are greater in spring and autumn (i.e., during the growing seasons) compared to summer; (b) 10 cm groundwater level favors both C. cinerascens growth and reproductive parameters as compared to 20 cm groundwater level; (c) the effect of groundwater level is stronger in autumn than in spring and summer because lower autumn precipitation interacts with groundwater level to limit plant growth in the Poyang Lake wetland
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
