Abstract
Shoots of many clonal species are iterated seasonally by programmed growth from bud banks. Buds are not all the same but differ in their positions; these positions determine their densities, trigger times, and seasonal dynamics. To determine how different bud types contribute to a shoot population in an undisturbed environment, the densities of each bud type and daughter-shoot type were investigated in Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvelev. New horizontal rhizomes (A1-1) start to grow in late May, but new vertical buds (including the vertical apical rhizome buds (A1-2), axillary rhizome buds (B1), and axillary shoot buds (C1)) emerge in late June; after late June or late July, the density of A1-1 gradually decreased, whereas the vertical buds increased. In mid-season, the presence of a high proportion of A1-1, suggests that plants pursue a spreading strategy. Late in the season, a high proportion of vertical buds suggests that they adopt a propagation strategy. At the end of the growing season, the stable contributions of type-specific buds (A1-2, 16%; B1, 5%; C1, 79%) to the overall shoot population may explain the dominance of this species throughout the eastern Eurasian Steppe. Developing a clearer understanding of bud dynamics and their type-specific contributions under undisturbed conditions, is a necessary prerequisite for predicting their responses under disturbed conditions.
Published Version
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