克隆繁殖是极端干旱区植物繁殖最普遍的繁殖方式之一。塔克拉玛干沙漠南缘是降水极端稀少的地区，疏叶骆驼刺(Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. )是这一区域荒漠--绿洲过渡带上的主要建群种植物。
为深入了解疏叶骆驼刺在不同潜水埋深下的克隆繁殖过程变化，中国科学院新疆生态与地理研究所策勒国家站曾凡江研究员和桂东伟副研究员，开展了不同潜水埋深下的定点调查实验，研究了策勒绿洲荒漠区的骆驼刺在不同潜水埋深下的克隆繁殖过程中根系构型及分株变化。
研究结果表明：潜水埋深可以显著影响骆驼刺的克隆生长及繁殖特性。随着地下潜水的不停增加，骆驼刺会主动调节克隆繁殖策略，如增加横向侧根的分株深度和生物量，减少克隆分株数，增加地上部生物量及株高、冠幅、基茎等。目前，随着塔南区域经济的发展和人口的显著增加，绿洲面积不断扩大。在绿洲扩大化过程中，地下水被大量开采，造成了地下潜水埋深的不断下降，本研究可为塔南极端干旱荒漠区的植被修复提供理论指导和支撑。
相关研究成果以Characteristics of the clonal propagation of Alhagi sparsifolia shap.(Fabaceae) under different groundwater depths in Xinjiang， China为题发表于The Rangeland Journal。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐的英文摘要
The Rangeland Journal doi.org/10.1071/RJ13004
Characteristics of the clonal propagation of Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. (Fabaceae) under different groundwater depths in Xinjiang， China
Dongwei Gui ，Fanjiang Zeng ，Zhen Liu and Bo Zhang
Clonal reproduction of plants commonly occurs in arid areas because seedling establishment is rare in such severe environments. The features of clonal architecture differ not only among plant species but also within the same species growing in different environments. The characteristics of clonal propagation of Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. (Fabaceae)， growing on the margins of Cele Oasis on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert， were investigated in September 2010. The study was conducted on three sites with different groundwater depths (2.5， 4.5， and 11.0 m). The results showed that the root suckering depth and the ability to expand and the biomass of coarse lateral roots of A. sparsifolia significantly increased when the groundwater depth increased. Moreover， the vegetative regeneration capacity of A. sparsifolia significantly declined with increasing groundwater depth， and the canopy cover at the site with a groundwater depth of 2.5 m was significantly greater than at the other two sites. There was no difference in aboveground biomass at the three sites. In such hyper-arid environments with a scarcity of soil nutrients， it was demonstrated that groundwater depth plays an important role in the clonal growth and propagation traits of A. sparsifolia. Increases in the groundwater depth as a result of over-use of oasis water for irrigation could lead to reduced populations of this important species in the interfaces between oases and the surrounding desert.
