The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the highest biogeographic unit on earth and widely regarded as its ‘third pole＇.The high-altitude,frigid and arid alpine ecosystems that form the Plateau are extremely sensitive to cli...The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the highest biogeographic unit on earth and widely regarded as its ‘third pole＇.The high-altitude,frigid and arid alpine ecosystems that form the Plateau are extremely sensitive to climate change and human disturbance.Unsurprisingly,the Plateau is therefore a global epicenter of ecological and global change research and provides the ideal conditions and context to study the impacts of global change.Ecological research conducted on the Plateau can be partitioned into four developmental and chronological phases,beginning with the gathering of primitive knowledge and progressing towards a description of mechanistic processes.Throughout the course of Plateau research paradigm shifts from standalone surveys of biogeographic patterns to fixed monitoring and mechanism research;from isolated population,community and ecosystem approaches to more integrated,multidisciplinary research;and from pure theoretical research to an emphasis on effective resource utilization and sustainable development.Future ecological research will likely pay increasing attention to quantifying the impacts of climate warming and human activity on ecosystem change,and climate and ecosystem feedback processes.Multidisciplinary and comprehensive research should be strengthened amongst fields such as ecosystem ecology,physical geography,environmental science and remote sensing in order to support climate change adaptation and sustainable development in this fragile and unique region.展开更多
Aims We aimed to evaluate how climatic fluctuations influence the plasticity of anatomical vessel traits and the width of annual tree-rings of two relict-endemic Mexican Magnolia species.Notwithstanding,few studies ha...Aims We aimed to evaluate how climatic fluctuations influence the plasticity of anatomical vessel traits and the width of annual tree-rings of two relict-endemic Mexican Magnolia species.Notwithstanding,few studies have assessed the drought effect on vessel traits in tropical montane cloud trees of eastern Mexico.Methods Through digital images of growth rings,we assessed the tree radial growth rate,age of the trees and plasticity in vessel traits regarding climatic fluctuations of the Mexican Magnolia species studied.We compared vessel density,hydraulic diameter and percentage of conductive area in drought years(DY)and non-drought years(NDY)in two Mexican Magnolia species.Important Findings For the first time,the plasticity that occurs in porous wood vessel traits to long-term climatic fluctuations was analysed for two endangered Magnolia species(Magnolia vovidesii and M.schiedeana)from two tropical montane cloud forests in Mexico.We found that temperature and precipitation were strongly associated with differences in tree-ring width when DY and NDY were compared.Our analyses revealed that a high plasticity in vessel anatomy of diffuse-porous wood was related to temperature and/or water availability for both Magnolia species studied.We concluded that anatomical adaptations to DY resulted in a substantial reduction in vessel traits when compared with NDY,and that the plastic adaptations played an essential role in water transport and safety for the survival of the studied species during stressful long periods.展开更多
文摘The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the highest biogeographic unit on earth and widely regarded as its ‘third pole＇.The high-altitude,frigid and arid alpine ecosystems that form the Plateau are extremely sensitive to climate change and human disturbance.Unsurprisingly,the Plateau is therefore a global epicenter of ecological and global change research and provides the ideal conditions and context to study the impacts of global change.Ecological research conducted on the Plateau can be partitioned into four developmental and chronological phases,beginning with the gathering of primitive knowledge and progressing towards a description of mechanistic processes.Throughout the course of Plateau research paradigm shifts from standalone surveys of biogeographic patterns to fixed monitoring and mechanism research;from isolated population,community and ecosystem approaches to more integrated,multidisciplinary research;and from pure theoretical research to an emphasis on effective resource utilization and sustainable development.Future ecological research will likely pay increasing attention to quantifying the impacts of climate warming and human activity on ecosystem change,and climate and ecosystem feedback processes.Multidisciplinary and comprehensive research should be strengthened amongst fields such as ecosystem ecology,physical geography,environmental science and remote sensing in order to support climate change adaptation and sustainable development in this fragile and unique region.
文摘Aims We aimed to evaluate how climatic fluctuations influence the plasticity of anatomical vessel traits and the width of annual tree-rings of two relict-endemic Mexican Magnolia species.Notwithstanding,few studies have assessed the drought effect on vessel traits in tropical montane cloud trees of eastern Mexico.Methods Through digital images of growth rings,we assessed the tree radial growth rate,age of the trees and plasticity in vessel traits regarding climatic fluctuations of the Mexican Magnolia species studied.We compared vessel density,hydraulic diameter and percentage of conductive area in drought years(DY)and non-drought years(NDY)in two Mexican Magnolia species.Important Findings For the first time,the plasticity that occurs in porous wood vessel traits to long-term climatic fluctuations was analysed for two endangered Magnolia species(Magnolia vovidesii and M.schiedeana)from two tropical montane cloud forests in Mexico.We found that temperature and precipitation were strongly associated with differences in tree-ring width when DY and NDY were compared.Our analyses revealed that a high plasticity in vessel anatomy of diffuse-porous wood was related to temperature and/or water availability for both Magnolia species studied.We concluded that anatomical adaptations to DY resulted in a substantial reduction in vessel traits when compared with NDY,and that the plastic adaptations played an essential role in water transport and safety for the survival of the studied species during stressful long periods.
