scholarly journals High-elevation limits and the ecology of high-elevation vascular plants: legacies from Alexander von Humboldt

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. John B. Birks
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Alexander Von Humboldt

Does past contact reduce the degree of mutualism in the Alnus rubra - Frankia symbiosis?

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H Markham ◽  
Chris P Chanway
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Alnus Rubra ◽  
Fixed Nitrogen ◽  
Symbiotic Relationships ◽  
Microbial Symbionts ◽  
Whole Plants

Although most vascular plants have symbiotic relationships with soil microbes, and there is an extensive theoretical literature on the evolution of mutualism, there has been little experimental examination of the evolution of mutualism between plants and their microbial symbionts. We inoculated red alder (Alnus rubra Bong.) seedlings from three high- and three low-elevation populations with crushed nodule suspensions containing the nitrogen fixing bacterium Frankia from either the parent trees (familiar strains) or the other plant population sampled within the parent watershed (unfamiliar strains). The inoculated seedlings were planted on three high- and three low-elevation sites. Growth was monitored over the second and third year following planting, after which the whole plants were harvested. The proportion of nitrogen derived from fixation was estimated from the ratio of stable nitrogen isotopes in the harvested leaves. On low-elevation sites, which had high soil nitrogen, plants with familiar Frankia strains were half the size and derived less fixed nitrogen from their symbionts compared with plants inoculated with unfamiliar Frankia strains. On high-elevation sites, which had low soil nitrogen, the type of inoculum had little effect on plant performance, although plants with familiar inoculum were consistently larger than plants with unfamiliar inoculum. These results suggest that the degree of mutualism in this symbiosis depends on environmental conditions and may decrease with time.Key words: coevolution, Frankia, Alnus rubra, mutualism, nitrogen fixation, symbiosis.

Comparisons of photosynthesis-related traits among understory lichens, mosses, and vascular plant leaves in a high-elevation subalpine forest

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Wang ◽  
Xin Liu ◽  
Zhangming Zhu ◽  
Wenzhang Ma ◽  
Weikai Bao
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Plant Leaves ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus

Abstract Many mosses and lichens thrive in high-elevation subalpine forests and even become dominant species on the forest floor. Although they play an irreplaceable ecological role in the forest, less is known about their eco-physiological status, and how their photosynthesis-related functional traits differ from those of co-occurring vascular plants. We determined the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations and stoichiometric ratios, tissue mass per area, chlorophyll concentrations, and photosynthetic light-response curves of three lichens, three mosses, and four vascular plants in a subalpine forest in the eastern Tibetan Plateau of China. Trait values were compared among and within each group. The lichens possessed a higher nitrogen concentration than that of mosses. In addition, the two poikilohydric groups exhibited lower concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll, light-saturated assimilation rates, and photosynthetic nutrient use efficiencies, and higher light compensation points than those of vascular plant leaves. Furthermore, variations in photosynthesis-related traits for lichen species reflect their different adaptation strategies to their corresponding environments. In contrast, the differences were weak among the three forest-floor mosses and the three herb species. These results demonstrate that the high abundance of understory lichens and mosses in the high-elevation subalpine forest cannot be explained by the photosynthesis-related traits.

A Scanning Electron Microscopic Study of Pro-Vascular Cellular Morphology in Chaetophora Incressata

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 638-639
Author(s):  
A. E. Hotchkiss ◽  
A. T. Hotchkiss ◽  
R. P. Apkarian
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Vascular System ◽  
Higher Plants ◽  
Wall Structure ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopic Study ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopic ◽  
Scanning Electron

Multicellular green algae may be an ancestral form of the vascular plants. These algae exhibit cell wall structure, chlorophyll pigmentation, and physiological processes similar to those of higher plants. The presence of a vascular system which provides water, minerals, and nutrients to remote tissues in higher plants was believed unnecessary for the algae. Among the green algae, the Chaetophorales are complex highly branched forms that might require some means of nutrient transport. The Chaetophorales do possess apical meristematic groups of cells that have growth orientations suggestive of stem and root positions. Branches of Chaetophora incressata were examined by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) for ultrastructural evidence of pro-vascular transport.

Current distribution of Nilgiri grass yellow Eurema nilgiriensis Yata (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), with an updated taxonomic key to Eurema of Western Ghats, India

ENTOMON ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Sujitha ◽  
G. Prasad ◽  
R. Nitin ◽  
Dipendra Nath Basu ◽  
Krushnamegh Kunte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Current Distribution ◽  
Western Ghats ◽  
Original Description ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Field Identification ◽  
Wing Patterns ◽  
Southern Western Ghats ◽  
The Nilgiris

Eurema nilgiriensis Yata, 1990, the Nilgiri grass yellow, was described from Nilgiris in southern India. There are not many published records of this species since its original description, and it was presumed to be a high-elevation endemic species restricted to its type locality. Based on the external morphology (wing patterns) as well as the male genitalia, the first confirmed records of the species from Agasthyamalais and Kodagu in the southern Western Ghats, is provided here. This report is a significant range extension for the species outside the Nilgiris, its type locality. Ecological data pertaining to this species as well as the field identification key to all known Eurema of Western Ghats are also presented.

A history of botanical collections in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-291
Author(s):  
P.S.M. PHIRI ◽  
D.M. MOORE
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Peak Activity ◽  
Historical Account ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Made In

Central Africa remained botanically unknown to the outside world up to the end of the eighteenth century. This paper provides a historical account of plant explorations in the Luangwa Valley. The first plant specimens were collected in 1897 and the last serious botanical explorations were made in 1993. During this period there have been 58 plant collectors in the Luangwa Valley with peak activity recorded in the 1960s. In 1989 1,348 species of vascular plants were described in the Luangwa Valley. More botanical collecting is needed with a view to finding new plant taxa, and also to provide a satisfactory basis for applied disciplines such as ecology, phytogeography, conservation and environmental impact assessment.

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