Elevation gradient modulates the effects of herbaceous encroachment on the long-term growth trends and climate sensitivity of Rhododendron aureum in alpine tundra

doi:10.1093/jpe/rtaf181

J Plant Ecol ›› Advance articles DOI:10.1093/jpe/rtaf181

• Research Article •

Elevation gradient modulates the effects of herbaceous encroachment on the long-term growth trends and climate sensitivity of Rhododendron aureum in alpine tundra

Na Li^1,2,#, Suke Hou^1,#, Mai-He Li^1,2,3, Xi Qi⁴, Liangjun Zhu⁵, Jitang Li⁶, Paolo Cherubini^2,7, Zhaoyong Hu⁸, Zhengfang Wu¹, Renkai Dong¹, Lei Wang^9,*, Youwen Wang¹⁰, Danyang Yuan⁵, Haibo Du^1,11,*

¹Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, Ministry of Education, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China

²Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf 8903, Switzerland

³School of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China

⁴Forest Ecology Stable lsotope Center, College of JunCao Science and Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China

⁵Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education School of Ecology, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China

⁶Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science, the MOE Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

⁷Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, 2004-2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

⁸State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, College of Water Resource and Hydropower, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China

⁹State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China

¹⁰Changbai Mountain Administrative Committee Nature Reserve Management Center, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture 133613, China

¹¹Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China

^#These authors contributed equally to this work.
^*Correspondences: Dr. Haibo Du and Dr. Lei Wang
School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University
No. 5268, Renmin Street, Changchun 130024, China
E-mail: duhb655@nenu.edu.cn; E-mail: wanglei@neigae.ac.cn

Received:2025-04-23 Accepted:2025-10-13 Online:2025-10-29 Published:2025-10-29
Supported by:
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 42371052, 42271100, 42271119), the funding from China Scholarship Council (CSC) (202306620087), the Science and Technology Research Project of Education Department of Jilin Province (grant number JJKH20250314KJ), and the Youth Innovation Promotion Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant number 2023238).

海拔梯度调节了草本植物上侵对高山苔原牛皮杜鹃长期生长趋势与气候敏感性的影响

Abstract

Abstract: As global warming drives plant upward migration, the alpine tundra of Changbai Mountain is experiencing encroachment by Deyeuxia angustifolia (Komarov) Y. L. Chang, a low-elevation herb. However, its impact on native shrubs such as Rhododendron aureum Georgi remains unclear. Here, we analyzed the radial growth trends and climate sensitivity of R. aureum across elevations and encroachment gradients using linear and mixed-effects model methods, and explored the mediating roles of soil properties and plant traits. Our study revealed that R. aureum exhibited stronger positive long-term growth trend at higher elevations compared to lower elevations. Mild and moderate encroachment of D. angustifolia enhanced the positive growth trend of R. aureum, especially at the low elevations. Moreover, R. aureum showed weak climate sensitivity at mid-elevation but stronger responses to winter temperatures at low elevation and to spring–summer temperatures and precipitation at high elevation. D. angustifolia encroachment further intensified this sensitivity, characterized by stronger negative responses to spring, autumn, and winter temperatures but positive responses to summer temperatures and autumn precipitation. Overall, elevation primarily influenced R. aureum growth and its sensitivity to precipitation through soil conditions and plant size traits. Soil conditions and leaf economic traits influence temperature sensitivity. These findings advance understanding of alpine vegetation dynamics and contribute to ecosystem conservation under climate change.

Key words: climate change, dwarf evergreen shrubs, elevation, climate sensitivity, soil properties, plant functional traits

摘要：
随着全球变暖驱动植物向上迁移，长白山高山苔原正经历低海拔草本植物大叶章(Deyeuxia angustifolia (Komarov) Y. L. Chang)的持续上侵。然而，其对牛皮杜鹃(Rhododendron aureum Georgi)等原生灌木的影响尚不明确。本研究基于线性模型和混合效应模型，分析了不同海拔和大叶章上侵梯度下牛皮杜鹃的径向生长趋势与气候敏感性，并探讨了土壤理化性质与植物功能性状的调节作用。结果表明，与低海拔相比，高海拔区域牛皮杜鹃表现出更强的长期正向生长趋势；大叶章轻度和中度上侵增强了牛皮杜鹃的正向生长趋势，尤其在低海拔地区更为突出。此外，牛皮杜鹃在中海拔区域的气候敏感性较弱，而在低海拔对冬季温度、高海拔对春夏温度和降水的响应更强。大叶章上侵进一步增强了这种气候敏感性，具体表现为对春、秋、冬季温度的负响应增强，而对夏季温度与秋季降水的正响应增强。总体而言，海拔主要通过土壤条件和植物大小性状影响牛皮杜鹃的生长及其对降水的敏感性，而土壤条件与叶片经济性状则主导其对温度的敏感性。本研究加深了对高山植被动态与入侵机制的理解，为气候变化背景下的高山生态系统保护提供了科学依据。

关键词: 气候变化, 常绿矮灌木, 海拔, 气候敏感性, 土壤性质, 植物功能性状

Na Li, Suke Hou, Mai-He Li, Xi Qi, Liangjun Zhu, Jitang Li, Paolo Cherubini, Zhaoyong Hu, Zhengfang Wu, Renkai Dong, Lei Wang, Youwen Wang, Danyang Yuan, Haibo Du. Elevation gradient modulates the effects of herbaceous encroachment on the long-term growth trends and climate sensitivity of Rhododendron aureum in alpine tundra[J]. J Plant Ecol, DOI: 10.1093/jpe/rtaf181.

[1]	Yuxin Huang, Fuzhong Wu, Qiqian Wu, Ji Yuan, Petr Heděnec, Qiao Yang, Qiumeng Yi, Kai Yue, Nannan An, Yan Peng. Global patterns and driving factors of non-leaf litter carbon quality across plant functional types and environments [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(5): 1-30.
[2]	Zhaoxia Guo, Yanhong Li, Xianjiang Chen, Shenghua Chang, Fujiang Hou. Effects of topography and grazing exclusion on vegetation and soil in typical steppe in the Loess Plateau [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(5): 1-35.
[3]	Qiaoyu Yan, Xuming Wang, Ashraf Muhammad Arslan, Runji Ma, Qi Liu, Lei Li, Xiaoying Gong. Electron transport to assimilation ratio (ETR/A) of C₃ plants is affected by atmospheric CO₂ [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(5): 1-34.
[4]	Enze Li, Hang Luo, Xingyong Cui, Kangjia Liu, Wenpan Dong. Future climate change promotes the global threat of the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) to ash species [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(5): 1-26.
[5]	Wenjie Li, Chenrui Wang, Peng Zhang, Junsheng Ke, Zijian Yu, Yilin Dang, Hongying Jiang, Mu Liu, Kui Hu, Xiang Liu. Higher leaf positions associated with biotrophic pathogen infection [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(5): 1-35.
[6]	Fandong Meng, Jianping Sun, Wangwang Lü, Zhenhua Zhang, Bowen Li, Yang Zhou, Jingya Lü, Lanying Chen, Tsechoe Dorji, Shiping Wang. Trade-off between growing season length and herbaceous growth on the Third Pole [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(4): 1-11.
[7]	Yi-Qing Zhang, Hong-Wei Yu, Yue Xin, Zi-Xin Li, Wei-Ming He. Microplastic abundance thresholds shape the growth of 18 wild plant species: the importance of soil pH [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(4): 1-34.
[8]	Nan Wang, Ayong Jiao, Yingjun Xu, Yacun Yang, Nan Cong, Weiwei Yao. Divergent responses of vegetation phenology and productivity to climate change in typical river basins across Northern and Southern China [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(4): 1-.
[9]	Yanyan Zhang, Ershan Zhang, Jihui Xia, Mengli Zhou, Shanshan Jin, Dongfeng Yan. Elevation-dependent variations in interspecific and intraspecific relationships of Quercus variabilis natural secondary forests [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(3): 1-19.
[10]	Xiao-Hui Zhou, Wei-Ming He, Pei-Hao Peng, Jing-Ji Li. Long-term warming legacies facilitate invasive plant growth and inhibit enemy performance [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(3): 1-16.
[11]	Jiangling Zhu, Chengjun Ji, Heng Zhang, Qinwei Ran, Shengli Tao, Zhiheng Wang, Xiaoting Xu, Qiong Cai Jingyun Fang. Possible refugia for Fagaceae species in China under climate change [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(3): 1-16.
[12]	Xiaoyi Wang, Anne D. Bjorkman, Xin Li, Mengdi Luan, Mengqian Wang, Xuebin Yan, Ying Wang, Xianhui Zhou, Miaojun Ma, Hui Guo. Shifts in plant reproductive phenology induced by multiple global change factors depend on phenological niche and pollination mode [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(3): 1-14.
[13]	Qian Li, Liang Jiao, Yarong Qin, Xin Yuan, Ruhong Xue, Peng Zhang, Xuge Wang, Zhengdong Guo, Le Zhang. Species and elevation differences in climate responses of two conifers at the southern edge of the Tengger Desert: insights from tree-ring width and δ¹⁸O analyses [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(3): 1-15.
[14]	Yuhan Liu, Yifei Zhao, Qiaosheng Li, Zijun Tan, Zugeng Zhang, Yuxuan Liu, Jianming Wang, Congcong Liu, Chunwang Xiao. Variation in leaf construction cost and environmental drivers in China [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(2): 1-14.
[15]	Guillermo Uceda-Gómez, Lucas Lyonga Molua, Francis Teke Mani, Francis Luma Ewome, Štěpán Janeček. Coping with altitude: altitude-driven floral visitor shifts on Hypericum revolutum (Hypericaceae) in Mount Cameroon grasslands [J]. J Plant Ecol, 2025, 18(2): 1-15.

Elevation gradient modulates the effects of herbaceous encroachment on the long-term growth trends and climate sensitivity of Rhododendron aureum in alpine tundra

海拔梯度调节了草本植物上侵对高山苔原牛皮杜鹃长期生长趋势与气候敏感性的影响

HTML

PDF

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments