不同程度的沙埋是生长在干旱和半干旱区内陆沙丘的植物经常遭遇的事件，沙埋可以改变植物所处的生物和非生物环境条件。已有研究表明不同程度的沙埋对于植物的影响不同 。轻微程度的沙埋可以增加植物高度、促进生物量的积累和新生分株的产生。如果沙埋强度不断增加，对植物的影响由正效应逐渐转变为负效应。即超过一定沙埋阈值后，沙埋会削弱植物的生长，甚至影响植物的存活。干旱和半干旱区内陆沙丘中常常生长着许多克隆植物， 克隆整合常常可以缓解克隆植物分株所遭受的局部环境胁迫。根茎型克隆植物羊柴（Hedysarum laeve）是毛乌素沙地的优势半灌木之一，也是当地重要的固沙植物。为了探讨克隆整合的作用是否可以提高沙埋阈值，并有助于羊柴忍受高强度的沙埋，以其为研究对象开展了野外实验。结果表明：轻微程度的沙埋（例如沙埋深度是原始羊柴分株高的10%～20%）可以加速羊柴分株的高生长，提高叶片生物量、茎生物量以及整个地上部分的生物量。高强度的沙埋（例如沙埋深度是原始羊柴分株高的80%～100%）会削弱羊柴分株的存活和生长。在与不遭受沙埋分株相连的情况下，羊柴分株遭受沙埋的阈值高于没有分株相连的，而且在高强度的沙埋下，前者（有分株相连的遭受沙埋的分株）比后者（没有分株相连的遭受沙埋的分株）在株高增量、茎生物量、叶片生物量以及地上分株生物量上都要显著高。这暗示着克隆整合提高了羊柴遭受沙埋的阈值并有助于羊柴分株忍受高强度的沙埋。
In arid and semi_arid inland deserts, a major environmental stress for the plants is recurrent sand burial, which can influence the physical and biotic microenvironment of the plants and soil. Previous studies have shown that different sand burial depths have different effects on plants. Slight sand burial could increase the height increment, leaf biomass and the number of new ramets of the plants, while heavy sand burial impaired the growth of the plants and even decreased their survival. In other words, below a certain burial threshold level, the growth of the plants is stimulated probably because of multiple factors. However, as the level of burial increases, the positive response declines until it becomes a negative factor. Sand dunes are frequently colonized and stabilized by many rhizomatous clonal plants in arid and semi_arid inland deserts. Clonal physiological integration often helps clonal plants buffer local environmental stresses encountered by the ramets. The rhizomatous clonal semi_shrub, Hedysarum laeve, is a dominant plant species and important for vegetation restoration in the Mu Us sandland. We conducted a field experiment to investigate whether clonal integration can increase the threshold of sand burial and help rhizomatous H. laeve tolerate heavy sand burial. The results showed that slight sand burial could accelerate ramet growth and enhance their leaf biomass, stem biomass and shoot biomass. Heavy sand burial reduced the biomass of the plants and impaired survival and growth of the ramets. Clonal integration increased the thre shold of sand burial. Ramets connected to other ramets had greater height increm ent, stem biomass, leaf biomass and shoot biomass as compared to ramets that were not connected to other ramets under heavy sand burial. These results suggested that clonal physiological integration could help H. laeve ramets to tolerate relatively heavy sand burial, and clonal integration should play a role in H. laeve occupying the Mu Us sandland.