祁连山北坡主要木本植物功能性状及其海拔分异

The main woody plant functional traits and altitude differences on the northern slope of Qilian Mountains

植物功能性状是植物对生境长期适应所形成的可测量特征,受植物遗传特性和环境因子的共同影响。祁连山是我国干旱区的一条重要山脉,北坡海拔介于2000—5000 m,分布着青海云杉、祁连圆柏等10余种木本植物。深入了解祁连山区木本植物功能性状随海拔梯度分异特征对认识山地植物的适应性和植被垂直地带分布具有重要意义。选取祁连山北坡天然分布的11种木本植物,其中灌木9种,分别是金露梅(Potentilla fruticosa)、银露梅(Potentilla glabra)、水栒子(Cotoneaster multiflorus)、猫儿刺(Ilex pernyi)、吉拉柳(Salix gilashanica)、鬼箭锦鸡儿(Caragana jubata)、刚毛忍冬(Lonicera hispida)、高山绣线菊(Spiraea alpina)和鲜黄小檗(Berberis diaphana),乔木2种,分别是青海云杉(Picea crassifolia)和祁连圆柏(Juniperus przewalskii),调查了木质密度、胡伯尔值、叶面积、叶干物质含量、叶含水率和比叶面积6个枝、叶功能性状。结果表明:(1)灌木的木质密度、胡伯尔值、叶含水率和比叶面积显著高于乔木,但叶面积和叶干物质含量显著低于乔木;(2)木质密度和叶干物质含量随海拔升高显著下降,其他功能性状沿海拔分异不显著;(3)生长季气温与叶干物质含量正相关,与胡伯尔值和叶含水率负相关,生长季降水与各功能性状相关关系不显著。说明乔木和灌木植物采取不同的枝、叶资源利用策略来适应高山生境;随海拔升高,降低结构性碳投资可能限制了高山植被的分布上限;生长季气温是引起性状沿海拔分异的重要环境因子,但不能完全解释性状沿海拔分异规律。

Plant functional traits are the measurable characteristics of plants which are formed by long-term adaptation to habitat environmental conditions. The characterization of plant functional traits is mainly influenced by both the plants specific genetic basis and the shifted environmental factors. Qilian Mountains, with an elevation ranging from 2000 to 5000 m, is one of the major mountains in the dry land in Northwest China, where naturally distributed more than 10 kinds of woody plants such as Picea crassifolia and Juniperus przewalskii on the northern slope. It is of great academic and practice significance to understand the acclimation strategy and the vertical distribution pattern of alpine woody plants by deeply investigating the woody plant functional traits variation and the behind driving mechanism along with the altitude gradients in the Qilian Mountains. In the present study, we investigated 11 naturally distributed woody plant species along with the altitude in the Qilian Mountains, which included 9 shrub species(Potentilla fruticosa, Potentilla glabra, Cotoneaster multiflorus, Ilex pernyi, Salix gilashanica, Caragana jubata, Lonicera hispida, Spiraea alpine, and Berberis diaphana, respectively) and 2 tree species(Picea crassifolia and Juniperus przewalskii, respectively). A total of six plant functional traits of shoot and leaf were investigated in this study, and which include woody density, huber value, leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf water content, and specific leaf area, respectively. The results showed that:(1) woody density, huber value, leaf water content, and specific leaf area of shrub species were significantly greater than those of tree species, and leaf area and leaf dry matter content of shrub species were significantly lower than those of tree species.(2) Woody density and leaf dry matter content declined significantly along with the altitude gradients increased, and the other functional traits changed insignificantly along with the altitude gradients increased.(3) Growing-season air temperature was positively correlated with leaf dry matter content, and was negatively correlated with huber value and leaf water content;however, non-significant relationships between growing-season precipitation and plant functional traits were found. The results showed that tree and shrub plants adapted to the alpine habitats by adopting different branch and leaf resources utilization strategies;the decreasing structure carbon investment with the altitude gradients increased possibly has limited the upshift of alpine plants;the growing-season air temperature was one of the key environmental factors tuning woody plant functional traits variation pattern along with the altitudes gradients but could not explain all the variance.