Elsevier

Aquatic Botany

Volume 48, Issue 1, April 1994, Pages 21-29
Aquatic Botany

The effects of timing and duration of floods on growth of yound plants of Phalaris arundinacea L. and Urtica dioica L.: an experimental study

https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3770(94)90071-XGet rights and content

Abstract

A pot experiment was performed with ypung plants of Phalaris arundinacea L. and Urtica dioica L. cultivated from seeds sown in April. Seedlings of both species were flooded during the spring (May–June) or summer (June–August) or autumn (August–October). Flooding in spring did not affect the survival of P. arundinacea seedlings but increased mortality of U. dioica seedlings. Summer flooding reduced the growth of rhizomes and tillering in P. arundinacea, while none of the U. dioica plants survived more than 4 weeks of summer flooding. Plants of P. arundinacea flooded in autumn had a higher dry mass than those grown in mesis conditions, but their growth terminated earlier. All plants of U. dioica survived the whole period of autumn flooding (9 weeks) but their dry mass decreased as a result of leaf and root mortality. The response of the two species to flooding is discussed in relation to their establishment in floodplain habitats.

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