多年生早春短命植物是中亚荒漠中生活史十分独特的植物类群，在荒漠植物群落中具有重要地位和生态价值。该类植物蕴含着荒漠植物进化历程的丰富信息，是研究极端环境中植物适应进化的研究材料。本项目将围绕“荒漠极端环境中植物有性繁殖的生态适应”这一核心科学问题，以天山北部荒漠早春低温和传粉者缺乏等极端环境为背景，以该环境中典型的多年生早春短命植物囊果草为研究材料，采用野外观测与控制实验相结合的方法，通过对花部综合征与繁育系统、“膨大子房综合征”以及种子生物学与幼苗生长特性等方面的综合研究，以期明确该物种在荒漠早春环境中的繁殖保障与促进异交机制、阐明“膨大子房综合征”在保障种子发育和促进扩散中的作用、揭示种子休眠/萌发及幼苗存活与种群更新的关系。研究结果不仅可为全面揭示囊果草对荒漠早春环境的进化适应策略以及荒漠植物的生命历程等积累重要理论资料，还可为天山北部荒漠植被的生态保育提供重要理论依据。

Early-spring perennial ephemerals are plant taxa in the central Asia desert with a unique life history, and they play an important ecological role in the desert plant community. These species potentially can provide much information about the evolutionary process of desert plants, which makes then an ideal system for studying plant adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. The proposed project will focus on addressing the core scientific topic of the impact of sexual reproduction on adaptation to extreme environments in the desert. This project is based on the extreme environment due to low temperatures and lack of pollinators in early spring in the Northern Tianshan Mountains and will investigate the floral syndrome, breeding system, pollination syndrome, role of “inflated ovary syndrome”, seed biology, seedling survival and growth of the perennial early-spring ephemeral Leontice incerta. Methodology combining field observations and experiments will be used in the project. Specifically, our aims are to understand reproductive assurance and the mechanism enhancing out-crossing in this species in the early-spring desert environment; the role of “inflated ovary syndrome” in ensuring seed development and enhancement of dispersal ability; and the relationship between the seed dormancy/germination and population regeneration. The results of the study will aid us in exploring the evolutionary significance of this species under early-spring desert environment and provide important data on the life processes of desert plants for developing a theoretical framework for vegetation conservation in the Northern Tianshan Mountains.