Characteristics of life-form and growth-form of plant species in an alpine ecosystem of North-West Himalaya

Abstract

The present study was conducted in the alpine pastures of Tungnath (30° 14' N and 79° 13' E) to observe life-form and growth-form patterns of alpine plant species under grazed and ungrazed conditions and to work out the plant life form spectrum. Species were categorized as plant habit, height and length of growth-cycle and life-form classes according to Raunkiaer's system. The results show that in total of 68 species at grazed site, hemicryptophytes (He) accounted for 50.00% species, followed by cryptophytes (26.47%), chamaephytes (16.18%), phanerophytes (4.41%) and therophytes (2.94%). At the ungrazed site in 65 plant species, hemicryptophytes (He) accounted for 49.23% species, cryptophytes (26.15%), chamaephytes (15.38%), phanerophytes (6.15%) and therophytes (3.08 % species). In general, hemicrptophyte are dominant in both sites i.e. graged and ungrazed. Growth form categories were classified as forbs, shrubs, grasses and sedges and undershrubs, according to plant habit and height. On the basis of length of the growth cycle, species were categorized as plant species of short growth cycle, intermediate growth cycle and long growth cycle. The short forbs of plant habit and height, had the highest emergence, and grasses and sedges had the lowest emergence in representative species. Percentage of species with long growth cycle was highest in both sites.

Assessment of alpine summit flora in Kashmir Himalaya and its implications for long-term monitoring of climate change impacts

“…The proportion of geophytes and therophytes showed a gradual increase with elevation, while phanerophytes declined with elevation, and chamaephytes keep a low but constant share up to the highest summit. Similar trend and dominance of hemicryptophytes in alpine regions have been reported from the neighbouring mountains in Central Asia, such as Hindukush (Agakhanyantz and Breckle 1995), North-West Himalaya (Dickoré and Nüsser 2000;Dvorský et al 2011;Vashistha et al 2011), or elsewhere in the world, such as Inselberg summits in South Africa (Brand et al, 2019) and Swiss Alps (Matteodo et al 2013). The plant growth form of alpine regions is commonly ascribed to the temperature regime of the coldest period (Körner 2003;Körner 2011).…”

Altitudinal distribution and diversity of insects in miombo woodlands in Inhamacari, Manica Province, central Mozambique

“…Samplings were conducted in considerably homogeneous habitat of the miombo ecosystem where vegetation growth forms were recorded based on visual categorisation of plant habits as defined by Vashistha et al (2011) as well as tree species along the transect for habitat qualitative assessment.…”

Composition of plant life forms of subtropical shrubland in China and its correlation with temperature and precipitation

“…In conclusion, MWT and MCP are the most important hydrothermic factors that determine the geographic patterns of life forms in subtropical shrublands in China. Key words plant life-form spectra; geographic patterns; sensitivity; environmental gradients; RDA ordination Citation: Li JX, Xiong GM, Xu WT, Li YL, Lu ZJ, Zhao CM, Xie ZQ (2017 (Raunkiaer, 1934)。该系统认为植物在不良季节休眠 芽所在的位置是表达其适应不利季节的最好方式 (Pavón et al, 2000;Odland, 2009)。由于植物长期对 区域综合自然环境条件的趋同适应, 植物生活型谱 可以较清楚地反映出当地的气候特征, 并与植被类 型有着密切的联系。不同地区相同群落类型由于环 境条件的差异形成不同的植物生活型谱 (王梅峒, 1987;郭泉水等, 1999;Vashistha et al, 2011;Amjad et al, 2016); 同一地区处于不同演替阶段的植物群 落, 生活型谱也有差异 (张光富和宋永昌, 2001;雷 泞菲等, 2002;Hedwall et al, 2015) Wang et al, 2003;胡正华等, 2004;Raju et al, 2014;Hedwall et al, 2015)。众多研究发现, 随着纬 度和海拔的增加, 高位芽植物和一年生植物比例逐 Raunkiaer, 1934;郭 泉 水 等 , 1999;Wang et al, 2003;Mahdavi et al, 2012); 亦有一年生植物随海拔 梯度逐渐增加的报道 (Pavón et al, 2000 700 m以下为红黄壤, 700-1 400 m为黄壤和灰化黄 壤, 1 300-1 700 m或1 400-1 900 m为山地黄棕壤, 1 900-2 300 m为灰棕壤, 2 300 m以上的山顶或山脊 为山地灌丛草甸土 ( 0.5°的气象栅格数据 (Hijmans et al, 2005), 图2 亚热带灌丛植物生活型谱。Ch、Cr、H、Ph和T分别代 表地上芽植物、隐芽植物、地面芽植物、高位芽植物和一年 生植物。 Fig. 2 The spectrum of life-forms of shrublands across subtropical region.…”