CLONAL ARCHITECTURE AND RAMET POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS OF LEYMUS CHINENSIS FROM DIFFERENT HABITATS IN THE XILIN RIVER WATERSHED
内蒙古锡林河流域不同生境中羊草的克隆构型和分株种群特征

We compared internode length, nodes per spacer, spacer length, branching intensity, branching angle, frequency distribution of internode length, frequency distribution of spacer length, ramet population density and ramet height of Leymus chinensis among three different habitats including grassland, woodland and sandland along the Xilin River watershed. The result reveal that characters of L. chinensis such as spacer length, internode length and branching angle, frequency distribution of internode length and frequency distribution of spacer length differed among habitats, while nodes per spacer and branching intensity did not. Population characters like ramet population density and ramet height were also different among the three habitats. Clonal architecture of the species tended to be guerilla in grassland and sandland, but phalanx in woodland habitat. These results are discussed in the context of resource acquisition strategy by clonal plants.