Morphological and ecophysiological traits shaping altitudinal distribution of three Polylepis treeline species in the dry tropical Andes

Macek, Petr; Macková, Jana; Bello, Francesco de

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2009.08.013

Cited by 47 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Such patterns were observed in many species submitted to water stress (e.g., Bussotti et al, 2002;Bacelar et al, 2006;Guerfel et al, 2009). Also, a pronounced decrease of leaf size reduces transpiration in sites where water is scarce, as also reported for other plants (Huang et al, 2009;Macek et al, 2009). The high morpho-anatomical plasticity of Pistacia atlantica in response to aridity may explain its wide ecological distribution in northern Africa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Inter-population variability of leaf morpho-anatomical and terpenoid patterns of Pistacia atlantica Desf. ssp. atlantica growing along an aridity gradient in Algeria

Said

Fernandez

Greff

et al. 2011

Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants

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a b s t r a c tThree Algerian populations of female Pistacia atlantica shrubs were investigated in order to check whether their terpenoid contents and morpho-anatomical parameters may characterize the infraspecific variability. The populations were sampled along a gradient of increasing aridity from the Atlas mountains into the northwestern Central Sahara.As evidenced by Scanning Electron Microscopy, tufted hairs could be found only on seedling leaves from the low aridity site as a population-specific trait preserved also in culture. Under common garden cultivation seedlings of the high aridity site showed a three times higher density of glandular trichomes compared to the low aridity site. Increased aridity resulted also in reduction of leaf sizes while their thickness increased. Palisade parenchyma thickness also increases with aridity, being the best variable that discriminates the three populations of P. atlantica.Analysis of terpenoids from the leaves carried out by GC-MS reveals the presence of 65 compounds. The major compounds identified were spathulenol (23 g g −1 dw), ␣-pinene (10 g g −1 dw), verbenone (7 g g −1 dw) and ␤-pinene (6 g g −1 dw) in leaves from the low aridity site; spathulenol (73 g g −1 dw), ␣-pinene (25 g g −1 dw), ␤-pinene (18 g g −1 dw) and ␥-amorphene (16 g g −1 dw) in those from medium aridity and spathulenol (114 g g −1 dw), ␣-pinene (49 g g −1 dw), germacrene D (29 g g −1 dw) and camphene (23 g g −1 dw) in leaves from the high aridity site. Terpene concentrations increased with the degree of aridity: the highest mean concentration of monoterpenes (136 g g −1 dw), sesquiterpenes (290 g g −1 dw) and total terpenes (427 g g −1 dw) were observed in the highest arid site and are, respectively, 3-, 5-and 4-fold higher compared to the lower arid site. Spathulenol and ␣-pinene can be taken as chemical markers of aridity. Drought discriminating compounds in low, but detectable concentrations are ␦-cadinene and ␤-copaene. The functional roles of the terpenoids found in P. atlantica leaves and principles of their biosynthesis are discussed with emphasis on the mechanisms of plant resistance to drought conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Inter-population variability of leaf morpho-anatomical and terpenoid patterns of Pistacia atlantica Desf. ssp. atlantica growing along an aridity gradient in Algeria

Said

Fernandez

Greff

et al. 2011

Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants

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“…The changes of leaf nutrient were consistent with previous studies. Some studies on tropical, and subtropical mountains, and subarctic tundra found that leaf N and P declined with altitude (Köhler et al 2006;Macek et al 2009;Soethe et al 2008;Sundqvist et al 2011). By contrast, other studies also showed that the N and P of leaves first increased and then decreased with increasing elevation on Mountain Gongga, China (Shi et al 2012) and in the Peruvian Andes (Fisher et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invariant allometric scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus in leaves, stems, and fine roots of woody plants along an altitudinal gradient

Zhao

et al. 2016

J Plant Res

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“…A possible explanation for treeline changes is land use change (Bolli et al 2007, Gehrig-Fasel et al 2007, Macek et al 2009, Chauchard et al 2010. Most upward shift activities were found to occur below the potential regional treeline (Gehrig-Fasel et al 2007).…”

Section: The Role Of Positive Feedbacksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The life history traits of tree populations at treelines have been closely linked to differences amongst species in relation to the influence of low summer temperatures on growth rates, phenology, cover/density and development of trees (Motta and Nola 2001, Grace et al 2002, Gamache and Payette 2004, Kullman 2007, Macek et al 2009, Hertel and Schöling 2011, Xu et al 2012, Anadon-Rosell et al 2014 (Table 1 and Fig. 2).…”

Section: Life History Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of alpine treelines: positive feedbacks and global, regional and local controls

Kim¹,

Lee²

2015

J. Ecol. Environ.

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Whilst it is clear that increasing temperatures from global environmental change will impact the positions of alpine treelines, it is likely that a range of regional and local scaled factors will mediate the overall impact of global scale climate drivers. We summarized 12 categories of abiotic and biotic factors as 4 groups determining treeline positions. First, there are global factors related to climate-induced growth limitation and carbon limitation. Second, there are seven regional and local factors related to treeline dynamics including frost stress, topography, water stress, snow, wind, fire and nonfire disturbance. Third, species-specific factors can control treeline dynamics through their influence on reproduction and life history traits. Fourth, there are positive feedbacks in structuring the dynamics of treelines. Globally, the commonly accepted growth limitation hypothesis is that growth at a treeline is limited by temperature. Meanwhile, positive feedbacks between canopy cover and tree establishment are likely to control the spatial pattern and temporal dynamics of many treelines. The presence of non-linear dynamics at treelines has implications for the use of treelines as barometers of climate change because the lagged responses and abrupt shifts inherent in non-equilibrium systems may combine to mask the overall climate trend.

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Morphological and ecophysiological traits shaping altitudinal distribution of three Polylepis treeline species in the dry tropical Andes

Cited by 47 publications

References 40 publications

Inter-population variability of leaf morpho-anatomical and terpenoid patterns of Pistacia atlantica Desf. ssp. atlantica growing along an aridity gradient in Algeria

Inter-population variability of leaf morpho-anatomical and terpenoid patterns of Pistacia atlantica Desf. ssp. atlantica growing along an aridity gradient in Algeria

Invariant allometric scaling of nitrogen and phosphorus in leaves, stems, and fine roots of woody plants along an altitudinal gradient

Dynamics of alpine treelines: positive feedbacks and global, regional and local controls

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