Altitudinal patterns of maximum plant height on the Tibetan Plateau

作     者：Lingfeng Mao Shengbin Chen Jinlong Zhang Guangsheng Zhou 

作者机构：Department of Renewable ResourcesUniversity of Albertac/o 2-60 University TerraceEdmontonAlberta T6G 2H1Canada Nanjing Institute of Environmental SciencesMinistry of Environmental Protection8 JiangwangmiaoNanjing 210042China College of Environment and Civil EngineeringChengdu University of TechnologyDongsanluErxianqiaoChengdu 610059China Flora Conservation DepartmentKadoorie Farm and Botanic GardenLam Kam RoadTai PoNew TerritoriesHong Kong SARChina Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences46 Zhongguancun Nandajie StreetBeijing 100081China 

出 版 物：《Journal of Plant Ecology》 (植物生态学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2018年第11卷第1期

页      面：85-91页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 071001[理学-植物学] 07[理学] 

基　　金：Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities 

主　　题：functional traits macroecology growth form phylogenetically independent contrast(PIC) tree line Tibet 

摘      要：Aims Several studies have shown that plant height changes along environmen-tal ***,altitudinal patterns of plant height across species are still unclear,especially in regions sensitive to climate *** canopy height decreases dramatically near the tree line in alpine areas,we hypothesize that plant height across all species also decreases with increasing altitude,and distinct thresholds exist along this *** Using a large dataset of maximum plant height and elevation range(400 to 6000 m a.s.l.)of 4295 angiosperms from the regional flora of the Tibetan Plateau,we regressed plant height for every 100 m belt against elevation to explore the *** identify the approximate boundaries where dramatic changes in plant height occurs for herbaceous plants,shrubs,trees,woody plants and all angiosperms,we used piecewise linear *** independent contrast was used to test the potential evolutionary influences on altitudinal patterns at the family *** Findings Results showed that for herbaceous plants,shrubs,trees,woody plants and all angiosperms,plant height decreases significantly as altitude *** addition,we found that altitude,a proxy for many environmental factors,had obvious thresholds(breakpoints)dictating patterns of plant *** results of phylogenetically independent contrast also emphasized the importance of evolution-ary history in determining the altitudinal patterns of plant height for some growth *** results highlight the relative intense filter-ing effect of environmental factors in shaping patterns of functional traits and how this could vary for different ranges of environmental variables.