Response of Growth-Related Traits of Submerged Macrophytes to Light Reduction: A Meta-Analysis

Jing Gao (), Wei Hu, Jiawei Wang, Yichong Cui and Liuxin Li
Additional contact information
Jing Gao: Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200335, China
Wei Hu: Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200335, China
Jiawei Wang: Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200335, China
Yichong Cui: Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200335, China
Liuxin Li: Shanghai Investigation, Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd., Shanghai 200335, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: Underwater light reduction is presumably becoming more frequent and intensified due to eutrophication and algal blooms, which may significantly affect submerged macrophytes’ growth. However, a comprehensive understanding of how light reduction influences growth-related traits and responses is currently lacking. Here, we compiled data from 333 records of 62 published works that used controlled experiments to explore the responses of functional traits associated with growth to light reduction. Our results indicated that light reduction significantly decreased the relative growth rate (RGR), ramet number (RM), shoot biomass (SB), root biomass (RB), soluble carbohydrates (SC), and leaf number (LN) by 38.2%, 60.0%, 59.2%, 55.4%, 30.0%, and 56.1%, respectively, but elevated the chlorophyll content (Chl) by 25.8%. Meanwhile, the responses of RGR to light reduction increased significantly with the responses of RM, SB, RB, and root-to-shoot ratio (R/S). Considering the relationships among the growth-related traits, we further found that the responses of RGR to light reduction were mainly driven by the RM rather than leaf photosynthetic capability, indicating the importance of tiller ability under low light stress. We also identified a tipping point of the response of RGR to light reduction, which might be incorporated into hydrophyte dynamic models to improve precision. Our results highlight the importance of growth-related traits, andthese traits may need to be incorporated into models to improve the prediction of distribution and area for submerged species or to provide guidance for the restoration and sustainable development of aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: functional traits; relative growth rate; ramet number; soluble carbohydrates; light reduction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5918/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5918/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5918-:d:1110383

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().