Paudel Babu Ram, Dyer Adrian G, Garcia Jair E, Shrestha Mani
Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaption and Evolutionary Ecology, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
PeerJ. 2019 Sep 17;7:e7503. doi: 10.7717/peerj.7503. eCollection 2019.
There is currently enormous interest in how morphological and physiological responses of herbaceous plants may be affected by changing elevational gradient. Mountain regions provide an excellent opportunity to understand how closely related species may adapt to the conditions that rapidly change with elevation. We investigated the morphological and physiological responses of two Himalayan alpine gingers ( and ) along two different vertical transects of 400 m, between 2,174-2,574 m a.s.l and between 2,675-3,079 m a.s.l. We measured the variables of plant height, leaf length, leaf area, specific leaf area, and stomata density at five plots, along the vertical transect at an elevational gap of ca. 100 m. Results revealed that with increased elevation plant height, and leaf area decreased while stomata density increased, whereas changes in specific leaf area, were not correlated with the elevation. Our results reveal that these alpine gingers undergo local adaptation by modifying their plant height, leaf area and stomata density in response to the varying selection pressure associated with the elevational gradient. Thus, the findings of this research provide valuable information on how a narrow range of elevational gradient affects the herbaceous plants at the alpine habitat of the Himalayas.
目前，草本植物的形态和生理反应如何受到海拔梯度变化的影响引发了极大的关注。山区为了解近缘物种如何适应随海拔迅速变化的环境提供了绝佳机会。我们沿着两条不同的400米垂直样带，调查了两种喜马拉雅高山姜（和）的形态和生理反应，一条样带位于海拔2174 - 2574米之间，另一条位于海拔2675 - 3079米之间。我们在沿着垂直样带、海拔间隔约100米的五个样地测量了株高、叶长、叶面积、比叶面积和气孔密度等变量。结果显示，随着海拔升高，株高和叶面积减小，而气孔密度增加，相比之下，比叶面积的变化与海拔无关。我们的研究结果表明，这些高山姜通过改变株高、叶面积和气孔密度来进行局部适应，以应对与海拔梯度相关的不同选择压力。因此，本研究结果为狭窄的海拔梯度如何影响喜马拉雅高山栖息地的草本植物提供了有价值的信息。
