Biological and ecological characterization of Phragmites australis in Songnen Prairie

Phragmites australis widely distributed in Songnen Prairie with long history and formed a series of biological, ecological as well as genetic characters contributing to accommodate to the specific local climatic and edaphic conditions. These characters included anatomy and ultrastructure, photosynthetic and resistance physiology, various functions of rhizome, resistance to different stresses including salinity, alkalinity, drought and cold, gene flow, genetic variation among clones and populations, phenotypic plasticity, plasticity in reproductive strategy as well as coordination of reed growth and biomass allocation strategy.