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Journal of Arid Land  2015, Vol. 7 Issue (4): 488-500    DOI: 10.1007/s40333-015-0042-z
Research Articles     
Floral traits and pollination system of Zygophyllum xanthoxylum in the managed and wild populations in an arid region of Northwest China
CHEN Min1,2*, ZHAO Xueyong1, ZUO Xiao’an1, LIAN Jie1, ZHU Yangchun1,2
1 Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;
2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Abstract  Zygophyllum xanthoxylum, which belongs to Sarcozygium of Zygophyllaceae, is one of the ecologically important species in Northwest China. In order to understand the pollination system of Z. xanthoxylum, we investigated the following characteristics of this species in the Urat Desert-grassland Research Station in western Inner Mongolia of China: flowering dynamics, pollen viability, pollen limitation, floral visitors and breeding system. The results showed that the flowering period and flowering peak were different between the wild and managed populations, being longer in the managed population. Z. xanthoxylum was pollen-limited, and pollen limitation was more intense in the wild population than in the managed population. Chalicodoma deserticola (Hymenoptera) was found to be the most frequent pollinator in the wild population, while Anthophora fulvitarsis (Hymenoptera) was the most frequent and effective visitor in the managed population. Out-crossing was dominant in the breeding system and self-pollination just played an assistant role to assure the reproduction of Z. xanthoxylum.

Key wordsartificial root exudates      carbon mineralization      pH variation      deteriorated grassland ecosystem      Inner Mongolia     
Received: 11 September 2014      Published: 10 August 2015
Fund:  

This research was funded by the National Science and Technology Support Program (2011BAC07B02) and the National Natu-ral Science Foundation of China (41071185).

Corresponding Authors:
Cite this article:

CHEN Min, ZHAO Xueyong, ZUO Xiao’an, LIAN Jie, ZHU Yangchun. Floral traits and pollination system of Zygophyllum xanthoxylum in the managed and wild populations in an arid region of Northwest China. Journal of Arid Land, 2015, 7(4): 488-500.

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http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-015-0042-z     OR     http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2015/V7/I4/488

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