Kin recognition benefits clonal offspring performance of historically grazed Leymus chinensis: insights for grassland management

Abstract

Abstract Background Individual plants can identify their neighbors and adjust their biomass investment to avoid competing with their relatives or jointly cope with external stresses. Maternal effects can improve their offspring adaptability under external stresses. However, how grazing-induced maternal effects influence plant kin interactions remain unknown. Methods Clonal offspring of Leymus chinensis grown under multi-year grazing and non-grazing conditions were used for this study. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of focal plants in the presence of kin and stranger neighbors, with the aim of analyzing the interaction between maternal effect and kin relatedness. Results Kin relatedness of neighboring plants affected the biomass production and allocation of focal plants, demonstrating the presence of kin recognition in L. chinensis. Moreover, grazing-induced maternal effects significantly enhanced kin recognition in the species. Consequently, the presence of stranger neighbors significantly improved the growth potential of grazed offspring. Specifically, the total biomass of clonal offspring increased by 73.1% compared to the kin group, potentially buffering grazing-induced plant productivity declines. Conclusions This study shows that historical grazing enhances kin recognition in L. chinensis. Thus, introducing multi-genotypic plants can increase the productivity of grasslands. The findings of this study enhance our understanding of intraspecific plant–plant interactions in clonal species and provide new insights into sustainable grassland management.