Dataset of Rapid adaptive responses of rosette-type macrophyte Vallisneria natans juveniles to varying water depths: The role of leaf trait plasticity

Rosette-type submerged macrophytes are widely distributed across a range of water depths in shallow lakes and play a key role in maintaining ecosystem structures and functions. However, little is known about the rapid adaptive responses of such macrophytes to variations in water depth, especially at the juvenile stage. Here, we conducted a short term in situ mesocosm experiment, in which the juveniles of Vallisneria natans were exposed to a water depth gradient ranging from 20 to 360 cm. Twenty-two leaf-related traits were examined after four weeks of growth in a shallow lake. Most (18) traits of V. natans generally showed high plasticity in relation to water depth. Specifically, juveniles allocated more biomass to leaves, and had higher specific leaf area, leaf length to width ratio, chlorophyll content, and carotenoids content in deep waters, displaying trait syndrome associated with high resource acquisition. In contrast, V. natans juveniles in shallow waters had higher leaf dry matt...

莲座型沉水植物（rosette-type submerged macrophytes）广泛分布于浅水湖泊的各类水深梯度中，在维持生态系统结构与功能方面发挥着关键作用。然而，目前对于这类沉水植物，尤其是其幼龄阶段，对水深变化的快速适应性响应仍知之甚少。本研究开展了一项短期原位中宇宙实验（in situ mesocosm experiment），将苦草（Vallisneria natans）幼株置于20 cm至360 cm的水深梯度环境中。在浅水湖泊中生长四周后，研究测定了22项叶片相关性状。苦草的多数（18项）性状总体上表现出与水深相关的较高表型可塑性。具体而言，深水生境中的幼株会将更多生物量分配至叶片，且具有更高的比叶面积（specific leaf area）、叶长宽比（leaf length to width ratio）、叶绿素含量（chlorophyll content）与类胡萝卜素含量（carotenoids content），呈现出与高资源获取能力相关的性状综合征（trait syndrome）。相比之下，浅水生境的苦草幼株则具有更高的叶片干物质……