The Impact of Environmental Factors on Traits of Hedera Helix L. Vegetative Shoots

Abstract

Abstract Hedera helix L. is an evergreen vine native to Europe. Nowadays it is commonly recognised as an expansive species, posing danger to biodiversity of natural ecosystems. Obtaining the relationships between morphological variability, productive parameters of vegetative individuals and variations in environmental factors (on the example of the Kórnik Arboretum) is important for understanding the successful adaptation and dispersion of H. helix. Thus, the issue of our studies was to find the link between environmental factors and different traits of H. helix. We collected data on leaf length, leaf width, leaf petiole length, plant stem length, and the number of leaves per stem. We assessed values of ecological plasticity and correlation between the studied parameters. The results indicated the tolerance of ivy to wide variation in edaphic conditions. The limiting environmental factors for growth of the studied subpopulations were soil moisture and soil shade. We found large variability of leaf morphometric parameters and shoot length. Close correlation links were detected between leaf length/leaf width, leaf length/leaf petiole length, and leaf width/leaf petiole length. The length of the average leaf was a more variable parameter than the width of the leaf under different values of light intensity. Weak relationships were found between light intensity at the soil surface and plant stem length/the number of leaves per shoot. A high level of index of morphological integration of H. helix individuals and a close relationship between the quality index/subpopulation composition were established in this study. A direct relationship between light intensity and specific leaf area values was established. The value of specific leaf area decreased linearly with increasing of light intensity at the soil surface.