Alpine Botany最新文献

{"title":"Alpine plants with short-lived seeds have declined over the past two decades","authors":"Margherita Tognela,&nbsp;Francesco Porro,&nbsp;Silvano Lodetti,&nbsp;Fiona J. White,&nbsp;Graziano Rossi,&nbsp;Alessandro Petraglia,&nbsp;Veronica Maresca,&nbsp;Sergey Rosbakh,&nbsp;Andrea Mondoni","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00346-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00346-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The rate of temperature increase in alpine environments exceeds the global average, threatening alpine plant species. While some species benefit from changing conditions, others decline or risk extinction. Understanding the mechanisms that drive these divergent responses is crucial for biodiversity conservation. Although functional traits have been widely used to predict alpine plant responses to climate shifts, the role of seed traits remains largely overlooked. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that species decreasing in abundance produce shorter-lived seeds than those increasing. Seed longevity was estimated through accelerated ageing tests in 24 alpine and subalpine species from the Northern Apennines (Italy), estimating the time required for seed viability to decline to 50% (<i>p</i>_<i>50</i>) using probit analysis. The relationship between species-specific <i>p</i>_<i>50</i> value and 21-year population dynamics, quantified via the Cliff ‘Delta’ Index, was tested using a linear model. The results support the hypothesis, revealing a positive correlation between seed longevity (<i>p</i>_<i>50</i>) and species population trends, as measured by Cliff ‘Delta’ index. These findings highlight the potential role of seed longevity as a functional trait linked to plant population dynamics under environmental change. While vegetative traits have often been the focus of climate response studies, our results suggest that regenerative traits also warrant greater attention.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"136 1","pages":"91 - 100"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00346-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variation in the effectiveness of nonnative plant removal along elevation gradients in Switzerland","authors":"Georg V. Flückiger,&nbsp;Sascha Gregori,&nbsp;Jake M. Alexander","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00342-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00342-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Limiting the spread and impact of nonnative species in mountain ecosystems is a key management objective. While current management strategies may be tailored to species traits and life histories, understanding how management effectiveness varies along elevation gradients could help optimize control measures and ultimately support native plant communities. We hypothesized that management efficiency would increase with elevation due to smaller population sizes and more limiting environmental conditions affecting population performance near range edges. To test our hypothesis, we conducted a removal experiment with two perennial (<i>Solidago canadensis</i> and <i>Lupinus polyphyllus</i>) and one annual (<i>Erigeron annuus</i>) invasive species in the eastern Swiss Alps. Control effectiveness (recovery of plant cover after 1 year) depended on plant life history, with a strong reduction in cover for the perennial species. However, elevation did not significantly affect short-term management outcomes, suggesting consistent efficiency of control measures across the gradient. A germination experiment using soil samples from field sites revealed higher seedling numbers for the annual species and a decline in emergence with elevation for both focal species analyzed, suggesting that seed bank size may influence management outcomes. Based on our findings, we recommend long-term strategies that include the sowing of native seed mixtures to support recovery. Additionally, lower germination at higher elevations suggests that removal success may eventually be greater at species’ upper range limits. Overall, our study shows that considering elevation-related variation can help refine nonnative plant management strategies in mountains.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"136 1","pages":"1 - 13"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00342-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In situ nitrogen uptake from inorganic and organic sources by the fine root systems of five alpine woody plant species","authors":"Ryunosuke Suwa,&nbsp;Naoki Makita,&nbsp;Takumi Ito,&nbsp;Hiroki Iwata","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00343-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00343-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Alpine forests are characterized by cold conditions and poor nutrient availability. Knowledge of nitrogen (N) uptake by fine roots is necessary to understand the survival strategies of plants in these severe environments. We aimed to characterize species-specific inorganic and organic N uptake rates and their root traits in five dominant alpine woody plant species: the ectomycorrhizal (ECM) species <i>Pinus pumila</i> and <i>Alnus maximowiczii</i>, and the ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) species <i>Empetrum nigrum</i> var. japonicum, <i>Rhododendron aureum</i>, and <i>Vaccinium vitis-idaea</i>. The inorganic and organic N uptake rates from the fine-root systems were measured directly using the solution-depletion method. Root traits, such as diameter, specific root length, root tissue density, and root N concentration, were also determined through morphological and chemical analyses of the incubated roots. Total N uptake rates were higher in ERM species, particularly in <i>Vaccinium vitis-idaea</i>. The proportion of inorganic N uptake was greater in ECM species than in ERM species, while the proportion of organic N uptake was generally higher in ERM species. Root diameter was the best predictor of N uptake rates, and specific root length and root tissue density were linked to preferences for inorganic and organic N, respectively. Thus, alpine woody plants altered N uptake and preference by modifying root traits, potentially promoting N niche acquisition in competition among species or mycorrhizal types, and enhancing plant survival in the alpine zone.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"136 1","pages":"67 - 78"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00343-1.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Site-specific clonal structure influences the seed production of an alpine shrub Rhododendron aureum: implications for geitonogamous pollination","authors":"Keigo Takahashi,&nbsp;Gaku Kudo","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00341-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00341-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Pollination success and seed production of clonal plants will depend on the clonal structure of local populations if it affects the degree of geitonogamous pollination. We compared the clonal structure and reproductive performance of an alpine dwarf shrub, <i>Rhododendron aureum</i>, between local populations with different snowmelt conditions in the Taisetsu Mountains of northern Japan. This species is an outcrosser and many self-fertilised ovules are aborted before maturation. Flowering at early snowmelt sites (fellfield and shrubby habitats) occurs in mid-June, when overwintered bumble-bee queens are the major pollinators, whereas flowering at late snowmelt sites (snowbed habitat) occurs after mid-July, when bumble-bee workers are the main pollinators. Fruit-set rates were larger in the early-flowering populations than in the late-flowering populations due to larger queen abundance than usual years. However, seed production in ripe fruits differed between the habitat types in the early-flowering populations, where fellfield population with continuous patch distribution showed higher seed production than shrubby population with fragmented patch distribution. It was supposed that frequent geitonogamous pollination in the fragmented population resulted in higher abortion of self-fertilised seeds. Flower number per inflorescence was similar between flowering times, but ovule number per flower was significantly higher in the early-flowering populations than in the late-flowering populations. The production of many ovules was expected to be advantageous for the early-flowering population to ensure the seed production in environments with fewer flower visitors in usual years. In conclusion, heterogeneous ecological situations in the alpine ecosystem lead to habitat-specific seed production pattern among conspecific populations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"227 - 238"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conserving change: occurrence and fertility in a critically endangered species of a dynamic riparian habitat","authors":"David Frey,&nbsp;Vanessa Fricker,&nbsp;Chantal M. Hischier,&nbsp;Christoph Scheidegger,&nbsp;Silvia Stofer,&nbsp;Veronika Zengerer,&nbsp;Sabine Fink","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00336-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00336-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Many species of river riparia are threatened by habitat loss due to altered flood and sediment regime, and associated shifts in vegetation structure. However, their ecological niche is often obscure, especially in inconspicuous organisms such as lichens, hindering their conservation and use as indicator species in river restoration. We studied if variation in sediment size distribution, gravel bank elevation and vegetation structure drive presence-absence and fertility (fruit body production) in the endangered, soil-dwelling lichen <i>S</i><i>tereocaulon incrustatum</i> along two Swiss braided rivers, using binomial generalized linear mixed effect models in a Bayesian framework. Data was sampled on 811 plots randomly placed along 41 transects perpendicular to the main channels. Presence probability was highest on the most elevated plots, at 30% vascular plant cover in the herb layer, and 30–40% cobble cover, and increased with moss cover. Fruit body production probability was highest under closed canopies of woody plants &gt; 3m. We show that in braided rivers, <i>S. incrustatum</i> is most likely found on elevated, coarse-grained sediments with increased moss but moderate vascular plant cover. This indicates a niche comprising relatively stable riparian environments, where a dry, cryptogam-dominated vegetation establishes on raw soils and competition with vascular plants is moderate. Fertile thalli are mostly found under closed canopies and high densities, suggesting a shift to sexual reproduction with increasing habitat age. While rare but strong disturbances are therefore necessary for habitat creation, older, densely populated habitat patches may harbor important source populations for colonization, thereby representing focal areas for conservation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"289 - 300"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00336-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-elevation plant species exhibit limited morphological variability across elevations, contrary to species with a wider elevational distribution","authors":"Piotr Kiełtyk,&nbsp;Artur Obidziński,&nbsp;J. F. Scheepens","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00340-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00340-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Plants along mountain slopes experience strong environmental variation, particularly declining air temperature with increasing elevation. Investigating intraspecific variation in morphological traits and biomass allocation across elevational gradients can reveal how plants adjust their life-history strategies to climatic conditions, improving our understanding of their resilience to climate change. We analysed variation in overall morphology and biomass allocation in two high-elevation species: <i>Campanula alpina</i> and <i>Doronicum stiriacum</i>, both centred in the alpine belt. Their elevational responses were compared with three species exhibiting wider elevational occurrence: <i>Soldanella carpatica</i> (lower montane to subnival belt), <i>Bellidiastrum michelii</i> (lower montane to alpine belt), and <i>Senecio subalpinus</i> (lower montane to subalpine belt). All five species showed decreasing plant height with increasing elevation. However, high-elevation species maintained stable aboveground biomass and reproductive allocation, while species with wider elevational occurrence exhibited more than 50% reduction in aboveground biomass, and two of them showed significant decline in flower biomass with elevation. Our findings confirm that species with wider or lower elevational ranges exhibit greater trait variation than high-elevation specialists. These patterns suggest that mountain generalist species, with lower elevational preferences and wider elevational occurrence, may respond more strongly to rising temperatures, potentially increasing aboveground biomass and plant height under future climate change. In contrast, high-elevation species demonstrated the ability to persist across a wide temperature range while maintaining stable biomass, indicating physiological tolerance and potential to withstand warming in alpine environments. Further research is needed to understand how high-elevation specialists maintain stable growth and reproductive output, particularly their eco-physiological adaptations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"187 - 202"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00340-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: The niche of alpine botany","authors":"Christian Parisod","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00339-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00339-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"301 - 301"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Correction: Genetic divergence of Clematis alpina in the Swiss Prealps: a tale of the margins","authors":"Sofia Christe,&nbsp;Luca Champoud,&nbsp; Laurence Fazan,&nbsp; Michał Ronikier,&nbsp; Mathieu Perret,&nbsp;Gregor Kozlowski,&nbsp;Camille Christe","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00338-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00338-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"303 - 304"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00338-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Morphoanatomy and leaf biomass in Espeletia standleyana A.C.Sm. and Espeletia santanderensis A.C.Sm. in a northeastern Colombian paramo","authors":"Jimmy Reyes,&nbsp;Miguel Murcia,&nbsp;Fermín Rada,&nbsp;Emoelio Mantilla,&nbsp;Patricia Ochoa","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00332-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00332-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The adaptive responses of <i>Espeletia standleyana</i> and <i>E. santanderensis</i> populations in a paramo in Northeastern Colombia (3350 m a.s.l.), were studied to characterize their spatial segregation. Their anatomical, morphofunctional and leaf biomass characteristics were determined and compared. We found that many traits such as depth of the stomatal crypts, number of vascular bundles, leaf and peduncle xylem vessel diameters, thickness of the mesophyll, leaf area, rosette height and diameter, leaf water content, leaf area index, and leaf biomass were significantly higher in <i>E. standleyana</i> (P&lt; 0.05). Meanwhile, the diameter of the vascular bundles, width of stomatal crypts, number of leaves, specific leaf area, and percentage of sclerophylly were higher in <i>E. santanderensis</i> (P&lt;0.05). Multifactorial segregation indicated highly differential expressions in their morphofunctional and leaf biomass characteristics, evidencing adaptations to their microhabitats. <i>E. standleyana</i> showed xeromorphic characters in response to the greater ambient fluctuations typical of the paramo, while <i>E. santanderensis</i> responded with scleromorphic traits related to lower soil organic matter and water content, characteristic of the high Andean forest-paramo ecotone. The high spatial heterogeneity of the paramos allows the development of microclimatic and edaphic mosaics that determine population segregation of these growth forms.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"261 - 273"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00332-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Growth, leaf freezing resistance and reproductive fitness differ between sexual diploid and apomictic tetraploid Ranunculus kuepferi plants along a climatic elevation transect and at natural growing sites","authors":"Ursula Ladinig,&nbsp;Clara Bertel,&nbsp;Elvira Hörandl,&nbsp;Johanna Wagner","doi":"10.1007/s00035-025-00337-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00035-025-00337-z","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Apomictic plant taxa often show latitudinally and elevationally larger distribution ranges than their sexual relatives and tend to colonize previously glaciated areas more frequently. Despite numerous studies, the impact of the environment on this phenomenon is not fully understood. The present common-garden experiment on the alpine model plant <i>Ranunculus kuepferi</i>, with diploid sexual populations restricted to the south-western European Alps and tetraploid apomicts widespread throughout the Alpine Arc, should reveal how the cytotypes respond to the increasingly colder climate along a 1000 m elevation transect from the subalpine to the subnival zone in the Austrian Alps. Individuals originating from different populations in the European Alps were transplanted to plots at 4 elevations, and growth, leaf freezing resistance and reproductive fitness were recorded during the following 3 years. Additional measurements were carried out in natural populations. Diploids and tetraploids differed in their response to the respective site conditions along the elevation transect. Sexuals performed equal or even better than apomicts also at the highest site. Otherwise, tetraploids showed features, which could be advantageous in a cold climate: leaf mass per leaf area and rhizome mass increased with elevation, higher leaf freezing resistance, and larger diaspores prone to persist in seed banks. These traits, in combination with other factors, may have facilitated the postglacial establishment of tetraploids in higher regions of the Alps. The results suggest that both different responses to site conditions and different modes of reproduction may have led to the cytotype-specific geographical distribution patterns.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51238,"journal":{"name":"Alpine Botany","volume":"135 2","pages":"239 - 260"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00035-025-00337-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145204643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}