Paul Ramya Ranjan, Behera Soumit Kumar, Rawat Krishna Kumar, Anto Sonik, Sahu Vinay, Singh C P, Khuroo Anzar Ahmad
CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226001, India.
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Environ Monit Assess. 2025 Mar 19;197(4):433. doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-13844-7.
The majority of studies on alpine vegetation have focused on higher plants, while relatively little is known about how lower plants, such as bryophytes, respond to microclimate in the alpine ecosystem. Microclimate critically influences the distribution and growth of bryophytes in alpine ecosystems, and therefore, understanding the functional role of microclimate on bryophyte's physiological adaptation is critical for understanding the climate change response. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study investigated the patterns of species richness, biomass accumulation, and water storage capacity in bryophytes in alpine ecosystems of the Kashmir Himalaya. We conducted stratified systematic field sampling of bryophytes in two major alpine vegetation zones: open meadow above the timberline (AT) and under forest canopy cover below the timberline (BT) in Kashmir Himalaya, along with measurement of five microclimate variables: photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, µmol m s), air temperature (AT, °C), soil temperature (ST, °C), ambient CO concentration (μmol mol), and absolute humidity (AH, mmol mol). We found a total of 30 bryophyte species, including 3 liverworts and 27 mosses in the two zones with 10 species common. AT zone with greater species richness and more homogenous distribution of bryophytes exhibited higher biomass. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) identified PAR and air temperature (AT) as key microclimatic drivers influencing community structure, biomass accumulation, and water storage capacity in above the timberline, while humidity (AH) emerged as the primary factor shaping bryophyte dynamics in below the timberline. This study provides an insight into the ecological dynamics of bryophyte communities and relationships among microclimates with community structure, biomass, and water storage capacity of bryophytes in alpine ecosystems and highlights the need for continuous long-term monitoring to unravel these complex interactions.
大多数关于高山植被的研究都集中在高等植物上，而对于苔藓植物等低等植物如何响应高山生态系统中的小气候，人们了解得相对较少。小气候对高山生态系统中苔藓植物的分布和生长有着至关重要的影响，因此，了解小气候对苔藓植物生理适应的功能作用对于理解气候变化响应至关重要。为了填补这一知识空白，本研究调查了克什米尔喜马拉雅山高山生态系统中苔藓植物的物种丰富度、生物量积累和储水能力模式。我们在克什米尔喜马拉雅山的两个主要高山植被带进行了苔藓植物的分层系统野外采样：林线以上的开阔草甸（AT）和林线以下森林冠层覆盖下的区域（BT），同时测量了五个小气候变量：光合有效辐射（PAR，μmol m² s）、气温（AT，°C）、土壤温度（ST，°C）、环境CO₂浓度（μmol mol⁻¹）和绝对湿度（AH，mmol mol⁻¹）。我们在这两个区域共发现了30种苔藓植物，包括3种地钱和27种苔藓，其中有10种是共有的。物种丰富度更高且苔藓植物分布更均匀的AT区域表现出更高的生物量。典范对应分析（CCA）确定光合有效辐射（PAR）和气温（AT）是影响林线以上群落结构、生物量积累和储水能力的关键小气候驱动因素，而湿度（AH）则是塑造林线以下苔藓植物动态的主要因素。本研究深入了解了苔藓植物群落的生态动态以及小气候与高山生态系统中苔藓植物群落结构、生物量和储水能力之间的关系，并强调了进行持续长期监测以揭示这些复杂相互作用的必要性。
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