The effects of water control on the survival and growth of Alternanthera philoxeroides in the vegetative reproduction and seedling stages

Alternanthera philoxeroides (Martius) is an infamous invasive alien plant that is widely distributed in aquatic and terrestrial habitats. To investigate the vegetative reproduction, growth, survival strategy, and the function of leaves in fragment of A. philoxeroides under different water conditions, two water control experiments were conducted with different leaf treatments: (1) water control with stolon fragments, and (2) water control with plants. The water control was subjected to five levels: I 30% soil water content, II 70% soil water content, III 97% soil water content, IV water depth of 5 cm, and V water depth of 10 cm in combination with the two leaf treatments, fragments with two leaves and fragments without leaves. Based on the results, A. philoxeroides produced a significantly higher stem length, node number, leaf number, stem biomass, leaf biomass, and total biomass in the 97% soil water content and in treatments with leaves. Additionally, the stem mass ratio increased and the root mass ratio decreased with the increase of the water content. In Exp. 1, the survival rate was the highest in the 97% water content and was 0 in the 30% water content. Therefore, the leaves of stolon fragments contribute to the vegetative reproduction and growth of A. philoxeroides. In response to different water conditions, A. philoxeroides adopts different strategies according to the resource reserves by itself, which are conducive to its survival and widespread occurrence.

Automated summary

The study revealed that under high soil water content and leaf treatments, A. philoxeroides exhibited significantly increased growth and biomass, as well as an increase in stem mass ratio and a decrease in root mass ratio, with a higher survival rate as well.