seasonal dynamics of mobile carbon supply in quercus aquifolioides at the upper elevational limit碳供应的季节性动态移动quercus aquifolioides高程上限.pdfVIP

Seasonal Dynamics of Mobile Carbon Supply in Quercus aquifolioides at the Upper Elevational Limit 1 4 5 6 2,3 Wan-Ze Zhu *, Min Cao , San-Gen Wang , Wen-Fan Xiao , Mai-He Li * 1 Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station of Gongga Mountain, Institute of Mountain Hazard and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China, 2 Tree Physiology Group, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland, 3 State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China, 4 Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China, 5 College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China, 6 Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Environment, State Forestry Administration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China Abstract Many studies have tried to explain the physiological mechanisms of the alpine treeline phenomenon, but the debate on the alpine treeline formation remains controversial due to opposite results from different studies. The present study explored the carbon-physiology of an alpine shrub species (Quercus aquifolioides) grown at its upper elevational limit compared to lower elevations, to test whether the elevational limit of alpine shrubs (,3 m in height) are determined by carbon limitation or growth limitation. We studied the seasonal variations in non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) and its pool size in Q. aquifolioides grown at 3000 m, 3500 m, and at its elevational limit of 3950 m above sea level (a.s.l.) on Zheduo Mt., SW China. The tissue NSC concentrations along the elevational gradient varied significantly with season, reflecting the season-