Abstract
Plant traits and individual plant biomass allocation of 57 perennial herbaceous species, belonging to three common functional groups (forbs, grasses and sedges) at subalpine (3700 m ASL), alpine (4300 m ASL) and subnival (⩾5000 m ASL) sites were examined to test the hypothesis that at high altitudes, plants reduce the proportion of aboveground parts and allocate more biomass to belowground parts, especially storage organs, as altitude increases, so as to geminate and resist environmental stress. However, results indicate that some divergence in biomass allocation exists among organs. With increasing altitude, the mean fractions of total biomass allocated to aboveground parts decreased. The mean fractions of total biomass allocation to storage organs at the subalpine site (7%±2% S.E.) were distinct from those at the alpine (23%±6%) and subnival (21%±6%) sites, while the proportions of green leaves at all altitudes remained almost constant. At 4300 m and 5000 m, the mean fractions of flower stems decreased by 45% and 41%, respectively, while fine roots increased by 86% and 102%, respectively. Specific leaf areas and leaf areas of forbs and grasses deceased with rising elevation, while sedges showed opposite trends. For all three functional groups, leaf area ratio and leaf area root mass ratio decreased, while fine root biomass increased at higher altitudes. Biomass allocation patterns of alpine plants were characterized by a reduction in aboveground reproductive organs and enlargement of fine roots, while the proportion of leaves remained stable. It was beneficial for high altitude plants to compensate carbon gain and nutrient uptake under low temperature and limited nutrients by stabilizing biomass investment to photosynthetic structures and increasing the absorption surface area of fine roots. In contrast to forbs and grasses that had high mycorrhizal infection, sedges had higher single leaf area and more root fraction, especially fine roots.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Wang J T. A preliminary study on alpine vegetation of the Qing-Hai-XiZang (Tibet) Plateau. Acta Phytoecol Sinica, 1988, 12: 81–90
Hölscher D, Schmitt S, Kupfer K. Growth and leaf traits of four broad-leaved tree species along a hillside gradient. Forstwiss Centralbl, 2002, 121: 229–239 10.1046/j.1439-0337.2002.02031.x
Oleksyn J, Modrzyński J, Tjoelker M G, et al. Growth and physiology of Picea abies populations from elevational transects: common garden evidence for altitudinal ecotypes and cold adaptation. Funct Ecol, 1998, 12: 573–590 10.1046/j.1365-2435.1998.00236.x
Oleksyn J, Tjoelker M G, Reich P B. Growth and biomass partitioning of populations of European Pinus sylvestris L. under simulated 50° and 60°N daylengths: evidence for photoperiodic ecotypes. New Phytol, 1992, 120: 561–574 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1992.tb01806.x
Oleksyn J, Tjoelker M G, Reich P B. Whole plant CO2 exchange of seedlings of two Pinus sylvestris L. provenances grown under simulated photoperiodic conditions of 50° and 60° N. Trees, 1992, 6: 225–231 10.1007/BF00224340
Grime J P. Plant Strategies and Vegetation Processes. New York: John Wiley, 1979. 5–6, 7–9, 20–75
Bloom A J, Chapin III F S, Mooney H A. Resource limitation in plants-an economic analogy. Ann Rev Ecol Syst, 1985, 16: 363–392
Wang C T, Long R J, Cao G M, et al. Soil carbon and nitrogen contents along elevation gradients in the source region of Yangtze, Yellow and Lantsang Rivers. J Plant Ecol, 2006, 30: 441–449
Wang C T, Long R J, Wang Q J, et al. Distribution of organic matter nitrogen and phosphorus along an altitude gradient and productivity change and their relationships with environmental factors in the alpine meadow. Acta Pratacultural Sci, 2005, 14: 15–20
Li K H, Hu Y K, Wang X, et al. Relationships between aboveground biomass and environmental factors along an altitude gradient of alpine grassland. Chin J Appl Ecol, 2007, 18: 2019–2024 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2sXht1GqtLfM
Fabbro T, Körner Ch. Altitudinal differences in flower traits and reproductive allocation. Flora, 2004, 199: 70–81
Zhang L J, Shi Y X, Pan X L. Analysis of correlativity between reproductive allocation and altitude in plants. J Northwest Univ (Natural Science Edition), 2007, 37: 77–80, 90
Wei J, Wu G, Deng H B. Vegetation biomass distribution characteristics of alpine tundra ecosystem in Changbai Mountains. Chin J Appl Ecol, 2004, 15: 2000–2004
Yang Y H, Fang J Y, Ji C J, et al. Above- and belowground biomass allocation in Tibetan grasslands. J Veg Sci, 2009, 20: 177–184 10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.05566.x
Li Y H, Luo T X, Lu Q. Plant height as a simple predictor of the root to shoot ratio: evidence from alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau. J Veg Sci, 2008, 19: 245–252 10.3170/2007-8-18365
Körner Ch, Renhardt U. Dry matter partitioning and root length/leaf area ratios in herbaceous perennial plants with diverse altitudinal distribution. Oecologia, 1987, 74: 411–418 10.1007/BF00378938
Du R J. Biostatistics (in Chinese). Beijing: Higher Education Press, 1985. 221–224
Zhou Z S, Guo J Y, Wan F H, et al. Impacts of low temperature storage on survival and fecundity of Ophraella communa LeSage (Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae). Chin J Bio Contr, 2008, 24: 376–378
Körner Ch. Alpine Plant Life: Functional Plant Ecology of High Mountain Ecosystems. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1999. 1–338
Zhao F, Yang Y P. Reproductive allocation in a dioecious perennial Oxyria sinensis (Polygonaceae) along altitudinal gradients. J Syst Evol, 2008, 46: 830–835
Mack M C, D’Antonio C M. Exotic grasses alter controls over soil nitrogen dynamics in a Hawaiian woodland. Ecol Appl, 2003, 13: 154–166 10.1890/1051-0761(2003)013[0154:EGACOS]2.0.CO;2
Chapin III F S, Chapin M C. Ecotypic differentiation of growth processes in Carex aquatilis along latitudinal and local gradients. Ecology, 1981, 62: 1000–1009 10.2307/1936999
Chapin III F S, Autumn K, Pugnaire F. Evolution of suites of traits in response to environmental stress. Am Nat, 1993, 142: S78 10.1086/285524
Luo T X, Brown S, Pan Y, et al. Root biomass along subtropical to alpine gradients: global implication from Tibetan transect studies. For Ecol Manag, 2005, 206: 349–363 10.1016/j.foreco.2004.11.016
Mokany K, Raison R J, Prokushkin A S. Critical analysis of root: shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Global Change Biol, 2006, 12: 84–96 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.001043.x
Meng T T, Ni J, Wang G H. Plant functional traits, environments and ecosystem functioning. J Plant Ecol, 2007, 31: 150–165
Garnier E, Laurent G, Bellman A, et al. Consistency of species ranking based on functional leaf traits. New Phytol, 2001, 152: 69–83 10.1046/j.0028-646x.2001.00239.x
Reich P B, Ellsworth D S, Walters M B, et al. Generality of leaf trait relationships: A test across six biomes. Ecology, 1999, 80: 1955–1969 10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[1955:GOLTRA]2.0.CO;2
Meziane D, Shipley B. Interacting determinants of specific leaf area in 22 herbaceous species: effects of irradiance and nutrient availability. Plant Cell Environ, 1999, 22: 447–459 10.1046/j.1365-3040.1999.00423.x
Poorter H, Jong R. A comparison of specific leaf area, chemical composition and leaf construction costs of field plants from 15 habitats differing in productivity. New Phytol, 1999, 143: 163–176 1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXlvFSgtr4%3D, 10.1046/j.1469-8137.1999.00428.x
Garnier E, Shipley B, Roumet C, et al. A standardized protocol for the determination of specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content. Funct Ecol, 2001, 15: 688–695 10.1046/j.0269-8463.2001.00563.x
Fernanda V, Sandra D, Diego E G, et al. Leaf traits as indicators of resource-use strategy in floras with succulent species. New Phytol, 2002, 154: 147–157 10.1046/j.1469-8137.2002.00357.x
Tian Q, Cao Z Z, Wang G H. Response of leaf traits of 14 plant species in typical steppe to water gradient in Inner Mongolia. Grassland and Turf, 2008, 25: 23–26
Mclntyre S, Lavorel S, Landsberg J, et al. Disturbance response in vegetation-towards a global perspective on functional traits. J Veg Sci, 1999, 10: 621–630 10.2307/3237077
Cornelissen J H C, Lavorel S, Garnier E, et al. A handbook of protocols for standardized and easy measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Aust J Bot, 2003, 51: 335–380 10.1071/BT02124
Craine J M, Froehle J, Tilman D G, et al. The relationships among root and leaf traits of 76 grassland species and relative abundance along fertility and disturbance gradients. Oikos, 2001, 93: 274–285 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2001.930210.x
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ma, W., Shi, P., Li, W. et al. Changes in individual plant traits and biomass allocation in alpine meadow with elevation variation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Sci. China Life Sci. 53, 1142–1151 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-010-4054-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-010-4054-9