Abstract
Allelopathy has a profound impact on the germination and growth of plants, influencing the establishment of plant populations and shaping community ecological patterns. However, the allelopathic potential of many grassland species remains poorly understood. In this study, we prepared aqueous extracts from 17 herbaceous plants to investigate their allelopathic effects on the seed germination and seedling growth of Leymus chinensis, a dominant grassland species. Our results revealed that the response of L. chinensis to allelopathic compounds was dependent on the specific plant species, extract concentration, and target plant organ. Notably, Fabaceae plants exhibited a stronger allelopathic potential than Poaceae, Asteraceae, and other plant families. Moreover, we observed that root growth of L. chinensis was more sensitive to allelopathy than shoot growth, and seed germination was more affected than seedling growth. Generally, the germination of L. chinensis was strongly inhibited as the donor plant extract concentration increased. The leachate of Fabaceae plants inhibited the seedling growth of L. chinensis at concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 0.1 g mL−1. On the other hand, the leachate from other families’ plants exhibited either inhibitory or hormetic effects on the early growth of L. chinensis, promoting growth at 0.025 g mL−1 and hindering it at concentrations between 0.05 and 0.1 g mL−1. These findings highlight the significant allelopathic potential of grassland plants, which plays a critical role in establishing plant populations and associated ecological processes. In addition, they shed light on the coexistence of other plants with dominant plants in the community.
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The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Jinying Lvu for her assistance with the experimental equipment provided and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
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This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, grant number 2018YFF0213405, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number 31772654.
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KW (Kaili Wang) and KW (Kun Wang) conceived and designed the experiments. KW (Kaili Wang), PD, ZM, JH, and QG performed the experiments. KW (Kaili Wang) analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. KL and LG provided revised advice. YR and DH coordinated the project. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
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Wang, K., Dou, P., Miao, Z. et al. Seed germination and seedling growth response of Leymus chinensis to the allelopathic influence of grassland plants. Oecologia (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05539-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05539-6