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170 results for “alpine plant”
Effects of warming temperatures on germination responses and trade-offs between seed traits in an alpine plant
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Data from: Plant biodiversity responds more strongly to climate warming and anthropogenic activities than microbial biodiversity in the Qinghai-Tibetan alpine grasslands
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Data from: Phylogeny does not predict the outcome of heterospecific pollen-pistil interactions in a species-rich alpine plant community
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Rare plant species are at a disadvantage when both herbivory and pollination interactions are considered in an alpine meadow
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The functioning of alpine grassland ecosystems: climate outweighs plant species richness
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The responses of microbial necromass carbon accumulation to climate aridity in alpine meadow soils are dominated by plant species richness
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Data from: Extreme warming coordinately shifts root and leaf traits of alpine plants towards conservatism
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Data from: Plant diversity and density predict belowground diversity and function in an early successional alpine ecosystem
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Spatial discontinuity of mountain systems and genetic structure of alpine plants: the Alps-Carpathians disjunction in a comparative phylogeographical context
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Warming reduces mid-summer flowering plant reproductive success through advancing fruiting phenology in an alpine meadow
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Thermal niche traits of high alpine plant species and communities across the tropical Andes and their vulnerability to global warming
<a name="_Hlk10643461">Aim</a> <p>The Climate Variability Hypothesis (CVH) predicts that locations with reduced seasonal temperature variation select for species with narrower thermal ranges. Here we (1) test the CVH by assessing the effect of latitude and elevation on the thermal ranges of Andean vascular plant species and communities, and (2) assess tropical alpine plants vulnerability to warming based on their thermal traits.</p> Location <p>Tropical Andes</p> Taxon <p>Vascular plants</p> Methods <p>Temperature data for 505 vascular plant species from alpine communities on 49 summits, were extracted from 29,627 geo-referenced occurrences. Species thermal niche traits (TNTs) were estimated using bootstrapping for: minimum temperature, optimum (mean) temperature, and breadth (maximum-minimum). Plant community-weighted scores were estimated using the TNTs of their constituent species. CVH was tested for species, biogeographic species groups and communities. Vulnerability to global warming was assessed for species, biogeographic species groups and communities.</p> Results <p>Species restricted to the equator showed narrower thermal niche breadth than species whose ranges stretch far from the equator, however, no difference in niche breadth was found across summits' elevation. Biogeographic species groups distributed close to the equator and restricted to alpine regions showed narrower niche breadth than those with broader ranges. Community weighted-scores of thermal niche breadth were positively related to distance from equator but not to elevation. Based on their TNTs, species restricted to equatorial latitudes and plant communities dominated by these species were identified as the most vulnerable to the projected 1.5 °C warming, due to a potentially higher risk of losing thermal niche space.</p> Main conclusions <p>Our study confirms that the CVH applies to high tropical Andean plant species and communities, where latitude had a strong effect on the thermal niche breadth. TNTs are identified as suitable indicators of species' vulnerability to warming and are suggested to be included in long-term biodiversity monitoring in the Andes.</p>
Nitrogen economy of alpine plants on the north Tibetan Plateau: nitrogen conservation by resorption rather than open sources through biological symbiotic fixation
<p>Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important factors limiting plant productivity, and N fixation by legume species is an important source of N input into ecosystems. Meanwhile, N resorption from senescent plant tissues conserves nutrients taken up in the current season, which may alleviate ecosystem N limitation. N fixation was assessed by the <sup>15</sup>N dilution technique in four types of alpine grasslands along the precipitation and soil nutrient gradients. The N resorption efficiency (NRE) was also measured in these alpine grasslands. The aboveground biomass in the alpine meadow was 4–6 times higher than in the alpine meadow-steppe, alpine steppe, and alpine desert-steppe. However, the proportion of legume species to community biomass in the alpine steppe and the alpine desert steppe was significantly higher than the proportion in the alpine meadow. N fixation by the legume plants in the alpine meadow was 0.236 g N m<sup>-2</sup>, which was significantly higher than N fixation in other alpine grasslands (0.041 to 0.089 g N m<sup>-2</sup>). The NRE in the alpine meadows was lower than in the other three alpine grasslands. Both the aboveground biomass and N fixation of the legume plants showed decreasing trends with the decline of precipitation and soil N gradients from east to west, while the NRE of alpine plants showed increasing trends along the gradients, which indicates that alpine plants enhance the NRE to adapt to the increasing droughts and nutrient-poor environments. The opposite trends of N fixation and NRE along the precipitation and soil nutrient gradients indicate that alpine plants adapt to precipitation and soil nutrient limitation by promoting NRE (conservative nutrient use by alpine plants) rather than biological N fixation (open sources by legume plants) on the north Tibetan Plateau.</p>
Herbivores reduce seedling recruitment in alpine plant communities
<p>Through changes in climate and other environmental factors, alpine tundra ecosystems are subject to increased cover of erect shrubs, reduced predictability of rodent dynamics, and changes in wild and domesticated herbivore densities. To predict the dynamics of these ecosystems, we need to understand how these simultaneous changes affect alpine vegetation. In the long term, vegetation dynamics may depend critically on seedling recruitment. To study drivers of alpine plant seedling recruitment, we set up a field experiment where we manipulated the opportunity for plant-plant interactions through vegetation removal and introduction of willow transplants, the occurrence of herbivory through caging of plots, and then sowed 14 species into the plots. We replicated the experiment in three common alpine vegetation types (heath, meadow, and willow shrub) and recorded seedling emergence and survival over five years. Strong effects of vegetation removal and substantial differences in recruitment among dominant vegetation types suggested important effects of local vegetation on the recruitment success of vascular-plant seedlings. Similarly, herbivore exclusion had strong positive effects on recruitment success. This effect arose primarily via reduced seedling mortality in plots from which herbivores had been experimentally excluded and became noticeably stronger over time. In contrast, we detected no consistent effects of experimental willow shrub introduction on seedling recruitment. These results demonstrate that large and small herbivores can affect alpine plant seedling recruitment negatively by trampling and feeding on seedlings. Importantly, the effects became stronger over time, suggesting that effects of herbivory on seedling recruitment accumulates over time and may relate to recruitment phases beyond initial seedling emergence.</p>
Data from: Indirect effects of global change accumulate to alter plant diversity but not ecosystem function in alpine tundra
1. Environmental change can affect species directly by altering their physical environment and indirectly by altering the abundance of interacting species. A key challenge at the interface of community ecology and conservation biology is to predict how direct and indirect effects combine to influence response in a changing environment. In particular, little is known about how direct and indirect effects on biodiversity develop over time or their potential to influence ecosystem function. 2. We studied how nitrogen (N), winter precipitation (snow), and warming influenced diversity and ecosystem function over six years in alpine tundra. We used path analyses to partition direct effects of environmental manipulations from indirect effects due to changes in the abundance of two dominant plants. We hypothesize that 1) indirect effects will develop more slowly but will become stronger than direct effects over time, and 2) after six years, indirect effects will more strongly influence diversity while direct effects will influence ecosystem function. 3. Indirect effects of N on diversity were consistently stronger than direct effects and actually developed quickly, prior to direct effects. Direct effects of snow on diversity were detected in year two but then subsequently were reversed, while indirect effects were detected in year four and grew stronger over time. Overall in year six, indirect effects were much stronger than direct effects. 4. Direct effects predominated for three of four ecosystem functions we measured (productivity, N mineralization, winter N availability). The only indirect effects we found were that N and snow indirectly affected microbial biomass N by influencing Geum abundance. Across all four ecosystem measures, indirect effects were infrequent and weaker than direct effects. 5. Synthesis. Increasing indirect effects on diversity over time indicate that short-term experiments or monitoring of natural systems may underestimate the full magnitude of global change effects on plant communities. Explicitly accounting for changes in dominant plant abundance may be necessary for forecasting plant community response to environmental change. Conversely, weak indirect effects for ecosystem processes suggest that predicting ecosystem function without knowledge of plant responses to global change may be possible.
Data from: Pseudo-parallel patterns of disjunctions in an Arctic-alpine plant lineage
Disjunct distributions have intrigued biologists for centuries. Investigating these biogeographic patterns provides insight into speciation and biodiversity at multiple spatial and phylogenetic scales. Some disjunctions have been intensively studied, yet others have been largely overlooked and remain poorly understood. Among the lesser-known disjunction patterns is that between the mountain ranges of western North America. Flora and fauna endemic to the mountains of this region provide important systems for investigating causes and results of disjunctions, given the relatively recent geological formation of this area and the intense climatic fluctuations that have occurred since its formation. In Micranthes (Saxifragaceae), which has high rates of montane endemism, two species, M. bryophora and M. tolmiei, show this biogeographical pattern. By reconstructing a time-calibrated phylogeny based on 518 low-copy nuclear markers and including multiple populations of each species from the Coast Ranges, Cascades, Sierra Nevada, and Rocky Mountains, this study provides a biogeographical and temporal framework for the evolution of Micranthes in western North America. Strongly supported east-west differentiated clades are recovered for M. bryophora and M. tolmiei in both maximum likelihood and coalescent-based species tree reconstructions. Biogeographic analysis suggests different patterns of dispersal for both taxa and the dating analyses recovered contrasting ages for each clade. Due to both the different geographic patterns and the timing of the initial diversification of each taxon corresponding to different geologic and climatic events, the disjunction patterns shown for these taxa are suggested to be an example of biogeographical pseudocongruence.
Data from: Snowbeds are more affected than other subalpine-alpine plant communities by climate change in the Swiss Alps
While the upward shift of plant species has been observed on many alpine and nival summits, the reaction of the subalpine and lower alpine plant communities to the current warming and lower snow precipitation has been little investigated so far. To this aim, 63 old, exhaustive plant inventories, distributed along a subalpine–alpine elevation gradient of the Swiss Alps and covering different plant community types (acidic and calcareous grasslands; windy ridges; snowbeds), were revisited after 25–50 years. Old and recent inventories were compared in terms of species diversity with Simpson diversity and Bray–Curtis dissimilarity indices, and in terms of community composition with principal component analysis. Changes in ecological conditions were inferred from the ecological indicator values. The alpha-diversity increased in every plant community, likely because of the arrival of new species. As observed on mountain summits, the new species led to a homogenization of community compositions. The grasslands were quite stable in terms of species composition, whatever the bedrock type. Indeed, the newly arrived species were part of the typical species pool of the colonized community. In contrast, snowbed communities showed pronounced vegetation changes and a clear shift toward dryer conditions and shorter snow cover, evidenced by their colonization by species from surrounding grasslands. Longer growing seasons allow alpine grassland species, which are taller and hence more competitive, to colonize the snowbeds. This study showed that subalpine–alpine plant communities reacted differently to the ongoing climate changes. Lower snow/rain ratio and longer growing seasons seem to have a higher impact than warming, at least on plant communities dependent on long snow cover. Consequently, they are the most vulnerable to climate change and their persistence in the near future is seriously threatened. Subalpine and alpine grasslands are more stable, and, until now, they do not seem to be affected by a warmer climate.
Data from: Nurse species and indirect facilitation through grazing drive plant community functional traits in tropical alpine peatlands
Facilitation among plants mediated by grazers occurs when an unpalatable plant extends its protection against grazing to another plant. This type of indirect facilitation impacts species coexistence and ecosystem functioning in a large array of ecosystems worldwide. It has nonetheless generally been understudied so far in comparison with the role played by direct facilitation among plants. We aimed at providing original data on indirect facilitation at the community scale to determine the extent to which indirect facilitation mediated by grazers can shape plant communities. Such experimental data are expected to contribute to refining the conceptual framework on plant–plant–herbivore interactions in stressful environments. We set up a 2-year grazing exclusion experiment in tropical alpine peatlands in Bolivia. Those ecosystems depend entirely on a few, structuring cushion-forming plants (hereafter referred to as "nurse" species), in which associated plant communities develop. Fences have been set over two nurse species with different strategies to cope with grazing (direct vs. indirect defenses), which are expected to lead to different intensities of indirect facilitation for the associated communities. We collected functional traits which are known to vary according to grazing pressure (LDMC, leaf thickness, and maximum height), on both the nurse and their associated plant communities in grazed (and therefore indirect facilitation as well) and ungrazed conditions. We found that the effect of indirectly facilitated on the associated plant communities depended on the functional trait considered. Indirect facilitation decreased the effects of grazing on species relative abundance, mean LDMC, and the convergence of the maximum height distribution of the associated communities, but did not affect mean height or cover. The identity of the nurse species and grazing jointly affected the structure of the associated plant community through indirect facilitation. Our results together with the existing literature suggest that the "grazer–nurse–beneficiary" interaction module can be more complex than expected when evaluated in the field.
Data from: A diet rich in C3 plants reveals the sensitivity of an alpine mammal to climate change
Plant-herbivore interactions provide critical insights into the mechanisms that govern the spatiotemporal distributions of organisms. These interactions are crucial to understanding the impacts of climate change, which are likely to have an effect on the population dynamics of alpine herbivores. The Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei, hereafter pika) is a lagomorph found in the western Himalaya, and is dependent on alpine plants that are at risk from climate change. As the main prey of many carnivores in the region, the pika plays a crucial role in trophic interactions. We examined topographical features, plant genera presence, and seasonal dynamics as drivers of the plant richness in the pika's diet across an elevational gradient (2600−4450 m). We identified 79 plant genera in the faecal pellets of pikas, of which 89% were forbs, > 60% were endemic to the Himalaya and 97.5% of the plant genera identified followed the C3 photosynthetic pathway. We found that during the pre-monsoon season, the plant richness of the pika's diet decreased with increasing elevation. We demonstrate that a large area of talus supports greater plant diversity and, not surprisingly, results in higher species richness in the pika's diet. However, in talus habitat with deep crevices, pikas consumed fewer plant genera suggesting they may be foraging sub-optimally due to predation risk. The continued increase in global temperature is expected to have an effect on the distribution dynamics of C3 plants and consequently influence pika diet and distribution, resulting in a significant negative cascading effect on the Himalayan ecosystem.
Data from: Self-fertilization and herbivory in a rare alpine plant in California, Claytonia megarhiza (Montiaceae)
Reproduction in alpine habitats is challenging because of the short growing season, low temperatures, and high winds. This predicts alternative strategies for sexual reproduction in plants: compensatory measures such as larger floral displays and greater floral longevity to attract scarce pollinators and maintain outcrossing, or high levels of autonomous self-fertilization to assure reproduction in the absence of reliable pollinators. Here, we assessed the roles of animals (crawling insects, flying insects, and vertebrates) on the reproductive success of Claytonia megarhiza (A. Gray) S. Watson (alpine spring beauty). We measured fruit set and leaf herbivory while excluding animals from individual plants at a single site in Yosemite National Park, California. We found that plants were capable of setting fruit in the absence of pollinators and that, in the presence of animals, there was a 42% reduction in fruit set and a 159% increase in leaf damage. This suggests that Claytonia megarhiza may reproduce primarily by self-fertilization, and that herbivory may limit the reproductive success of this species near its southern range edge in California.
Data from: Functional dissimilarity, not phylogenetic relatedness, determines interspecific interactions among plants in the Tibetan alpine meadows
The hypotheses suggesting that the nature and strength of species interactions should be determined by phylogenetic relatedness have important implications for the understanding of community structure. However, to date, there is limited empirical evidence to support them. At least two basic conditions need to be met in order to expect species interactions to be determined by evolutionary relatedness: a phylogenetic signal in the traits involved in the interactions and changes in the interactions as species are more ecologically similar. Here, we report results of a removal experiment in the Chinese Tibetan plateau in which we directly assessed if the nature and/or strength of interactions among twelve alpine meadow plant species were influenced by their phylogenetic relatedness and/or their functional dissimilarity. For each plant species, we compared its biomass production when grown alone to its biomass in presence of another species and used it as a measure of species interactions. Competition between pairs of species was more frequent than facilitation, with 60% of interactions resulting in plants producing less biomass when a second species was present. We found no effect of phylogenetic relatedness on the prevalence or intensity of competition or facilitation, presumably as none of the studied traits showed phylogenetic signal. Functional dissimilarity based on maximum plant height alone was the best predictor of both the prevalence and strength of competition and facilitation, followed by functional dissimilarity using all five functional traits. Our results pinpoint the limited capacity of phylogenetic relatedness as predictor of species interactions; underlining the limitations of using phylogenetic dispersion patterns to infer mechanisms of community assembly. On the contrary, when the right functional traits are used, functional dissimilarity among species can predict both the nature and strength of their interactions; accentuating the relevance of trait-based approaches in community ecology research.
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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