Variation in resource allocation strategies and environmental driving factors for different life forms of aquatic plants in cold temperate zones

1. Resource allocation, including biomass allocation and nutrient allocation between different organs in a plant, reflects the trade-off in partitioning between aboveground and belowground organs and the growth and adaptation strategies of plants in a changing environment. Although varied resource allocation patterns among different organs in different functional groups of terrestrial plants have been found, few studies have focused on freshwater ecosystems.

2. In this study, to clarify biomass and nutrient allocation strategies and their responses to environmental factors, we collected and analysed 2162 samples from 262 aquatic plant communities (including emergent plants, floating-leaved plants and submerged plants) in various aquatic habitats in northeastern China.

3. The results showed that the root/shoot (R/S) ratios of the three aquatic plant life forms were significantly different, and the trend showed that the ratio values for the three plant life forms occurred in the fol...