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Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions ›› 2020, Vol. 12 ›› Issue (5): 295-305.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2020.00295.

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Seedling germination technique of Carex brunnescens and its application in restoration of Maqu degraded alpine grasslands in northwestern China

JianJun Kang1,WenZhi Zhao1(),CaiXia Zhang1,Chan Liu1,ZhiWei Wang2,HaiJun Wang3   

  1. 1.Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Key Laboratory of Inland River Basin Ecohydrology, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China
    2.Guizhou Institute of Prataculture, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, Guizhou 550006, China
    3.Zhangye Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhangye, Gansu 734000, China
  • Received:2020-02-19 Accepted:2020-09-09 Online:2020-10-31 Published:2020-10-29
  • Contact: WenZhi Zhao E-mail:zhaowzh@lzb.ac.cn

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Abstract:

Carex brunnescens (Pers.) Poir. is considered to be the only clonal herb found to date that can develop and form fixed dunes in Maqu alpine degraded grasslands of northwestern China. However, due to strong dormant characteristics of C. brunnescens seeds, the sand-fixing effect of the plant is severely limited. This study explores a technique that can rapidly promote the seed germination of C. brunnescens, and also investigates the adaptation and sand-fixing effect by cultivating C. brunnescens seedlings to establish living sand barriers in the sand ridges of moving sand dunes. Results show that the seed germination rate obtained a maximum of 63.7% or 65.1% when seeds were treated with 150 mg/L gibberellic acid (GA3) for 24 h followed by soaking in sulfuric acid (98% H2SO4) for 2.5 min or sodium hydroxide (10% NaOH) for 3.5 h, and then germinated (25 °C in daytime and 5 °C at nighttime) in darkness for 10 d. After breaking seed dormancy of C. brunnescens, the living sand barrier of C. brunnescens (plant spacing 15-20 cm; sand barrier spacing 10-20 m) was established in the perpendicular direction to the main wind in the middle and lower parts of the sand ridges on both sides of the moving sand dunes. When the sand ridges were leveled by wind erosion, the living sand barrier (plant spacing 15-20 cm; sand barrier spacing 0.5-1.0 m) of C. brunnescens was reestablished on the wind-eroded flat ground. Finally, a stable sand-fixing surface can be formed after connecting the living sand barriers on both sides, thus achieving a good sand-fixing effect. These findings suggest that rapid seed germination technology combined with the sand-fixing method of C. brunnescens can shorten the seed germination period and make the seedling establishment become much easier which may be an effective strategy to restore and reconstruct Maqu degraded grasslands.

Key words: Carex brunnescens, living sand barrier, Maqu degraded grasslands, moving sand ridge, sand-fixing method, seed germination technique

Table 1

The different softening methods of Carex Brunnescens seeds"

TreatmentsTimeTemperature (°C)
Immersion in deionized water48 h25
Immersion in 0.3% KNO348 h25
Immersion in 0.3% H2O248 h25
Immersion in 98% H2SO41, 2 min25
Immersion in 10% NaOH1, 2 h25
Sand storage in low temperature3 months, 6 months10

Table 2

Effects of physical treatments on seed germination of Carex Brunnescens"

Physical treatmentsGermination rate
Control (Immersion in water at room temperature for 48 h)0.0%
Immersion in hot water (40 °C, 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C) for 48 h0.0%
Cut the seed coat9.4%±0.6%
Stratification at 10 °C for 3 months, 6 months0.0%

Figure 1

Model figure of living sand barrier control for moving sand ridges of Carex Brunnescens"

Figure 2

Effect of sulfuric acid scarification (98% H2SO4) or sodium hydroxide (10% NaOH) soak on the seed germination percentage of Carex Brunnescens. After treated with 98% H2SO4 for 0, 1, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5 min (a) or 10% NaOH for 0, 2, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5 and 5 h (b), seeds were germinated at 25 °C in darkness for 10 d. Values are means ± SD (n =50). Columns with different letters indicate significant difference at P <0.05 (LSD test, the same as below)"

Figure 3

Effect of various temperature regimes on the seed germination percentage of Carex Brunnescens. After treated with 98% H2SO4 for 2.5 min or 10% NaOH 3.5 h, seeds were germinated in darkness at fluctuating temperature regimes (25/5, 25/10 and 25/15 °C) and constant temperature regime of 25 °C for 10 d. Values are means ±SD (n=50). Columns with different letters indicate significant difference at P <0.05"

Figure 4

Effect of different gibberellic acid (GA3) concentrations on the seed germination percentage of Carex Brunnescens. After treated with 98% H2SO4 for 2.5 min or 10% NaOH 3.5 h, seeds were placed at 25/5 °C in darkness under different GA3 concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/L) for 48 h, and then germinated at 25/5 °C in darkness for 10 d. Values are means ±SD (n=50). Columns with different letters indicate significant difference at P <0.05"

Table 3

Changes of plant height (PH), population density (PD) and vegetation coverage (VC), number of underground rhizomes (NUR), total length of underground rhizomes (TUR) and fresh weight of above- underground biomass (FWAUB) of Carex Brunnescens transplanted in the sand ridges of the moving dunes and the leveled sand ridges of moving dunes by wind erosion"

SitesPH (cm)

PD

(numbers/m2)

VCNUR (numbers/m2)TUR (cm/m2)FWAUB (g/m2)
SRWT6.6±0.4 ab21.9±2.7 b4.1%32.3±3.7 b1,675.8±57.7 b352.8±17.9 b
SRT7.4±0.6 a76.6±8.3 a21.7%80.2±5.7 a3,521.7±115.8 a951.2±25.8 a
SRLWWT6.9±0.4 ab108.1±7.8 b25.3%91.6±5.3 b5,217.7±96.2 c1,012.7±30.8 bc
SRLWT7.6±0.6 a143.5±8.9 a35.6%128.7±4.9 a12,468.3±131.7 a1,609.6±56.3 a

Table 4

Changes of soil organic matter (SOC), available nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) after transplanting Carex Brunnescens in the sand ridges of the moving dunes and the leveled sand ridges of the moving dunes by wind erosion"

Soil depth (cm)SitesSOC (mg/kg)AK (mg/kg)AN (μg/kg)AP (μg/kg)
0-15SRWT252±13 d59.3±6 d512.7±45 d208.3±16 d
SRT453±27 a124±11 a1,017.6±81 a389.4±23 a
15-30SRWT201±15 e47.6±5 e402.6±33 e164.5±15 e
SRT389±23 b94.1±9 b786.2±50 b320.6±19 b
30-50SRWT168±9 f37.6±5 f328.9±21 f114.1±11 f
SRT311±17 c65.9±6 c565.6±40 c249.7±16 c
0-15SRLWWT512±30 b143.1±12 b1,203.6±78 b427.1±27 c
SRLWT649±34 a171.4±16 a1,639.4±89 a608.6±41 a
15-30SRLWWT428±28 c104.1±9 c829.5±60 d359.2±17 d
SRLWT517±27 b146.1±14 b1,228.9±101 b493.7±23 b
30-50SRLWWT301±23 e75.9±9 d488.7±47 e280.6±19 e
SRLWT382±20 d109±10 c908.9±81 c386.1±22 cd
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