Tytuł artykułu

Clonal growth forms in Arctic plants and their habitat preferences: a study from Petuniabukta, Spitsbergen

Tytuł czasopisma

Polish Polar Research

Rocznik

2012

Numer

No 4

Autorzy publikacji

Klimešová Jitka ; Doležal Jiří ; Prach Karel ; Košnar Jiří

Słowa kluczowe

Arctic ; Svalbard ; vascular plants ; clonal growth ; substrate

Wydział PAN

Nauki o Ziemi

Zakres

421-442

Abstrakt

The ability to grow clonally is generally considered important for plants in Arctic regions but analyses of clonal characteristics are lacking for entire plant communities. To fill this gap, we assessed the clonal growth of 78 plant species in the Petuniabukta region, central Spitsbergen (Svalbard), and analyzed the clonal and other life−history traits in the regional flora and plant communities with respect to environmental gradients. We distinguished five categories of clonal growth organs: perennial main roots produced by non− clonal plants, epigeogenous rhizomes, hypogeogenous rhizomes, bulbils, and stolons. Clonal growth differed among communities of the Petuniabukta region: non−clonal plants prevailed in open, early−successional communities, but clonal plants prevailed in wetlands. While the occurrence of plants with epigeogenous rhizomes was unrelated to stoniness or slope, the occurrence of plants with hypogeogenous rhizomes diminished with increasing stoniness of the substratum. Although the overall proportion of clonal plants in the flora of the Petuniabukta region was comparable to that of central Europe, the flora of the Petuniabukta region had fewer types of clonal growth organs, a slower rate of lateral spread, and a different proportion of the two types of rhizomes.

Wydawca

Committee on Polar Research ; Polish Academy of Sciences

Data

2012

Typ

Artykuły / Articles

Identyfikator

ISSN 0138-0338 ; eISSN 2081-8262

DOI

10.2478/v10183−012−0019−y