Clonal integration benefits invasive alien plants under water variability in a native community

Aims Many invasive alien plant species are clonal and can greatly propa-gate and spread through clonal integration(sharing resources between connected ramets)in heterogeneous and variable environ-ments.Here,we tested whether water variability influences clonal integration of invasive alien plant species and consequently facili-tates their growth and dominance in a native community.Methods We selected four typical invasive clonal plant species in China.Connected(with clonal integration)and disconnected(without clonal integration)clonal fragments were established either under constant watering or variable watering condition in an experimental native plant community consisting of three naturally co-occurring grassland species.Proximal part of the container received high nu-trient and distal part received low nutrient.Important Findings Clonal integration significantly increased biomass,aboveground mass and belowground mass of invasive alien plants in the proximal ramets,the distal ramets and the whole clone and de-creased the growth of native community.Interestingly,clonal in-tegration significantly increased the growth of invasive plants in variable watering.The positive effect of clonal integration was stronger in variable watering than in constant watering.Invasive plants with clonal integration had high biomass proportion(>0.6)in the whole community.Our results suggest that invasive clonal plants benefit more from clonal integration in variable water en-vironments when established in a native community,and to some extent,clonal integration potentially contribute greatly to the inva-siveness of alien clonal plants when they enter a new community with resource variability.

Tonic Herbs and Herbal Mixtures in Chinese Medicine

This review results from a Pub Med-based data-mining of scientific literature concerning typical tonic herbs and formulas of Chinese herbal medicine and their application principle under the theory of CM. We have focused on two aspects of tonic activity: body tonification against qi气-, blood血-, yin阴-and yang阳-deficiency, respectively, and organ(Zang 脏and Fu腑) tonification against heart-, liver-, spleen/stomach-,lung-, and kidney-deficiency, respectively.Body-tonifying herbs are: Astragalus Membranaceus Radix(Huang-qi黄芪) and Panax Ginseng Radix(Ren-shen人参) for qi-tonification;Angelicae Sinensis Radix(Dang-gui当归) and Rehmannia Glutinosa Radix Preparata(Shu-di熟地) for blood-tonification; Ophiopogon Japonicus Radix(Mai-dong麦冬) and Scrophularia Ningpoensis Radix(Xuan-shen玄参) for yin-deficiency; Myristica Fragrans Semen(Roudou-kou肉豆蔻) and Psoralea Corylifolia Fructus(Bu-gu-zhi补骨脂) for yang-deficiency. The corresponding CM formulas are: Bu-zhong-yi-qi decoction(补中益气汤) for qi-tonification; Si-wu decoction(四物汤) for blood-tonification; Zeng-ye decoction(增液汤) for yin-tonification;Si-shen pill(四神丸) for yang-tonification.Organ-tonifying herbs are: Glycyrrhizae Uralensis Radix Preparata(Zhi-gan-cao炙甘草) and Rehmannia Glutinosa Radix(Di-huang地黄) for heart-tonification; Lycium Barbarum Fructus(Gou-qi-zi枸杞子) and Angelicae Sinensis Radix(Dang-gui当归) for liver-tonification; Panax Ginseng Radix(Ren-shen人参) and Atractylodis Macrocephala Rhizoma(Bai-zhu白术) for spleen/stomach-tonification; Panax Ginseng Radix(Ren-shen人参) and Astragalus Membranaceus Radix(Huang-qi黄芪) for lung-tonification; Cornus Officinalis Fructus(Shan-zhu-yu山茱萸)and Dioscorea Opposite Rhizoma(Shan-yao山药) for kidney-tonification. The corresponding CM formulas are: Zhi-gan-cao decoction(炙甘草汤) for heart-tonification; Yi-guan decoction(一贯煎) for liver-tonification; Shen-ling-bai-zhu powder(参苓白术散) for spleen/stomachtonification; Bu-fei decoction(补肺汤) for lung-tonification; Liu-wei-di-huang pill(六味地黄丸) for kidney tonification.These herbs and formulas were described regarding their efficacy, reasonable use and unreasonable abuse specific to different patients with different symptoms. The scientific investigation on efficacy and safety of Chinese formulas will propel the acceptance and spread of TCM in the western world for the sake of patients worldwide.