ArticleBMC plant biology2026
Oasis or trap: Divergent survival strategies of two desert herbs under shrub fertile islands.
Article in BMC plant biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
The "fertile island" effect of desert shrubs creates "high nutrients - low water" environmental gradient, driving divergent adaptive strategies in herbaceous plants: shallow-rooted species exhibit high growth plasticity yet vulnerability to water stress, while deep-rooted species maintain stability through deep - water access. Our findings demonstrate that water availability overrides nutrient enrichment as the primary factor governing these adaptations, providing new insights into plant-plant interactions in arid ecosystems. To clarify this, this study investigated a typical desert shrub, Calligonum mongolicum, in the Gurbantunggut Desert. We analyzed biomass, stoichiometry, and rhizosphere soil properties of two associated herbaceous species-shallow-rooted Centaurea pulchella and deep-rooted Ceratocarpus arenarius-across four distances (0-100 cm) from C. mongolicum. The results showed that both the biomass and nutrient content of herbaceous plants increased with increasing distance from the shrub center. Total biomass of both herbaceous species peaked at the distal zone (D4: 90-100 cm), showing 2.84-fold (Cer. arenarius) and 2.08-fold (Cen. pulchella) increases relative to the proximal shrub zone (D1: 0-10 cm). Plants nearer the shrub exhibited elevated root-to-shoot ratios, indicating that symbiotic plants respond to survival pressures through biomass allocation strategies. Soil water content (SWC) increased with increasing distance from the shrub, and showing a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with soil depth, peaking at 5-10 cm. Deep-rooted plants and shallow-rooted plants employ different biomass allocation strategies under varying soil moisture conditions. Although the "fertile island" effect of shrubs could enrich soil nutrients, it simultaneously triggers water competition with symbiotic herbaceous plants. This competition for water inhibits the growth of these coexisting herbaceous species. Our study suggested that the "fertile island" effect primarily limited herbaceous plant growth through water competition, with root strategies of Cer. arenarius and Cen. pulchella determining the plants' resistance to disturbances. This research contributes to a advancing understanding of the shrub-herbaceous plant symbiotic mechanisms and ecological stability in desert ecosystems.
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