Geographical distribution characteristics and influencing factors of plant survival strategies in an alpine grassland

doi:10.17521/cjpe.2022.0123

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Vegetation traits are one of the research hotspots in plant ecology and they reflect the strategies of plant survival. According to the CSR survival strategy model, plant species may be classified into three categories: C strategy that can maximize biomass in resource-rich environments (competitive species); R strategy that can rapidly intake resources and reproduce in environments with a high frequency of disturbance (opportunistic species); and S strategy that can maintain individual survival in resource-poor environments (tolerant species). Leaf traits have adaptive changes in response to environmental gradients, which have impacts on plant adaptation. The mechanisms of how leaf traits affect CSR survival strategies in the alpine grassland of Qingzang Plateau remain unclear. The objective of this paper is to investigate the spatial patterns of CSR survival strategies of alpine plants and the mechanisms by which environmental factors influence plant survival.
Methods We surveyed a field transect which consists of 53 sample sites in an alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau from July to August 2020. Vegetation traits of leaf area, leaf fresh mass, and leaf dry mass were measured and C, S, R values were calculated. Finally, we analyzed the critical drivers and mechanism of plant CSR strategies in response to geographical elements.
Important findings Our results showed that: (1) In the alpine grassland of the Qingzang Plateau, 41.6%-96.7% of plants are identified as S strategy. (2) With the increase of the longitude, the proportion of C strategy plants increased gradually from the west to the east, whereas along the altitude gradient, the proportion of C strategy plants decreased with the increasing altitude. (3) Random forest analysis showed that the contribution of precipitation to C strategy is the highest (25.74%), and the contribution of altitude to S strategy is the highest (27.34%). Additionally, both precipitation and temperature had significant effects on leaf area, and leaf water content significantly affects plant CSR strategies. In summary, results of our study highlighted that precipitation is the most critical factor that governs plant CSR survival strategies. This finding has important implications for studying the ecological adaptation along environmental gradients in alpine grasslands.

Key words: CSR strategy, leaf trait, environmental gradient, Qingzang Plateau, alpine grassland

LIN Ma-Zhen, HUANG Yong, LI Yang, SUN Jian. Geographical distribution characteristics and influencing factors of plant survival strategies in an alpine grassland[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2023, 47(1): 41-50.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.17521/cjpe.2022.0123

https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/Y2023/V47/I1/41

Figures/Tables 8

Fig. 1 Location of alpine grassland sample sites and the landscape topography of Qingzang Plateau.

Fig. 2 CSR strategy of common species in alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau. C, competitor; S, stress-tolerator; R, ruderal. Size of the circle represents the leaf dry matter content.

Fig. 3 Heat map of the correlation between C (A) and S (B) strategies and environmental factors in alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau. *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01. AI, aridity index; Alt, altitude; C, competitor; Lat, latitude; Lon, longitude; Pre, precipitation; S, stress-tolerator; Tem, temperature.

Fig. 4 Relative importance of effect of environmental factors on C (A) and S (B) strategies in alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau. AI, aridity index; Alt, altitude; C, competitor; Lat, latitude; Lon, longitude; Pre, precipitation; S, stress-tolerator; Tem, temperature.

Fig. 5 Effects of altitude (A), precipitation (B), longitude (C), temperature (D) on C-strategy in alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau. C, competitor.

Fig. 6 Effects of altitude (A), longitude (B), temperature (C) on S-strategy in alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau. S, stress-tolerator.

Fig. 7 Effects of longitude on precipitation (A) and altitude on temperature (B) in the alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau.

Fig. 8 Correlation analysis of C and S strategies on leaf area (A, B) and leaf water content (C, D), respectively, and leaf area on precipitation (E) and temperature (F) in the alpine grassland on the Qingzang Plateau. C, competitor; S, stress-tolerator.

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