Variability of haloxylon ammodendron (C.A. Mey) bunge populations from different habitats

Haloxylon ammodendron (c.a. mey) bunge occupies a wide range of different habitats in north-west china. the aim of this study was to quantify variation in population growth characteristics of h. ammodendron from different sites and to relate this variation to different environmental conditions. to this end,6 populations with visible differences were chosen and a range of morphological as well as seed-related characteristics like density,height,crown,basal diameter,seed mass,1000 seed weight,seed number,seed diameter and germination rate were measured. the variations in the averages of overall traits were explained. the differences between-populations were 33%,whereas those within population were 67%. the largest variation was detected in morphological-related traits between-populations (38%). in particular,the density,height,1000 seed weight and germination rate differed strongly between populations. the population growth characteristics were closely related to the soil property at the sites of origin. the soil property can explain most of the variations in the morphological-related traits. they were concluded that the diversity of population growth characteristics in different habitats provides the potential of population reproduction and the protection of original habitats is extremely important. © 2015,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.