While many clonal plants are highly successful invaders, the contribution of clonal integration (i.e. the translocation of resources among ramets) to invasion is often unknown. We used model simulations to ask if clonal integration would facilitate photosynthate translocation, if the performance of daughter ramets might be enhanced by clonal integration, and if shaded ramets benefited relatively more from transferred photosynthate. Then, to test if photosynthate translocation augmented performance of emerging daughter ramets for a globally invasive grass (Imperata cylindrica), we combined a ¹³CO₂ pulse‐chase experiment with a greenhouse experiment manipulating light levels and rhizome attachment. We found that acropetal photosynthate transfer occurred between all sampled parent–daughter ramet pairs and that this resource sharing led to higher biomass and tiller production when rhizomes between parent and daughter ramets were intact. We also found that the benefits of integration to recipient clones outweighed the costs to donors, since there was no reduction in parent plant performance due to sharing. Additionally, our data analyses show that photosynthate transfer was likely of greater benefit in overcoming growth constraints in shade than in full sun (posterior probability ~96.5%), a result that is further supported by our numerical simulations from a basic growth model. Thus, resource sharing among clonal plants may be a critical but underappreciated trait of invasive species. More generally, photosynthate transfer is a probable mechanism that explains why clonal integration can be particularly beneficial in heterogeneous resource environments.

中文翻译：

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克隆整合可增强入侵草的性能

尽管许多克隆植物是高度成功的入侵者，但克隆整合（即分株之间的资源转移）对入侵的贡献通常是未知的。我们使用模型模拟来询问克隆整合是否会促进光合产物的转运，子代分株的性能是否可以通过克隆整合得到增强，以及阴影分株是否从转移的光合产物中获得了相对更多的收益。然后，为测试光​​合产物易位是否增强了全球入侵草（Imperata cylindrica）的新兴子株的性能，我们结合了¹³ CO ₂脉冲追逐实验和温室实验，控制光照水平和根茎附着。我们发现，在所有采样的父子母分株对之间都发生了顶角光合产物的转移，当母子分株之间的根茎完好无损时，这种资源共享导致更高的生物量和分production产量。我们还发现，与受体克隆整合的好处超过了捐助者的成本，因为共享不会使亲本植物的性能下降。此外，我们的数据分析表明，光合作用转移在克服阴影下的生长限制方面可能比在阳光直射下具有更大的益处（后发概率约为96.5％），这一结果进一步得到了来自基本生长模型的数值模拟的支持。从而，克隆植物之间的资源共享可能是入侵物种的关键但未被重视的特征。更一般而言，光合产物转移是一种可能的机制，可以解释为什么克隆整合在异构资源环境中特别有益。