Patterns of floral allocation along an elevation gradient: variation in Senecio subalpinus growing in the Tatra Mountains

Abstract

This study examined the morphological variation in Senecio subalpinus W.D.J. Koch. (Asteraceae) along a 950-m elevation gradient in the Tatra Mountains, Central Europe, with emphasis on floral allocation patterns. Fifteen morphological traits were measured in 200 plants collected in the field from 20 sites then the findings were modelled by elevation using linear mixed-effects models. Plant aboveground biomass and height decreased steadily with increasing elevation; however, the most distinctive feature was the elevational shift in floral allocation patterns. Low-elevation plants had greater numbers of smaller flower heads with a lower overall number of flowers, while high-elevation plants had smaller numbers of bigger flower heads and a greater overall number of flowers. Accordingly, the mean individual flower mass increased significantly with increasing elevation. Interestingly, the width of the outer ligulate flowers also increased considerably with increasing elevation, increasing the fill of the overall circumference of the flower head. Results of this study confirmed that elevation is an important ecological gradient driving variation in vegetative and floral traits of S. subalpinus. Possible causes of the observed variations are subsequently discussed, including the varying effects of both abiotic and biotic factors with elevation gradients.

Influences of elevational gradient on flower size and number of Gentiana lawrencei var. farreri

“…farreri decreased sharply with increasing elevation, due to harsh environments (e.g., low temperatures and variability and poor predictability of climate) at high‐altitude areas (Körner, 2003 ; Zhang et al., 2020 ). This is consistent with most experimental and theoretical research results (Coomes & Allen, 2007 ; Kiełtyk, 2021 ; Körner, 2003 ; Sigdel et al., 2023 ). We found that the reproductive allocation of G. lawrencei var.…”

“…High‐altitude areas have harsh environments, such as low temperatures, short growing season, and variability and poor predictability of climate, which not only affect the growth and development of alpine plants but also affect the interaction between plants and animals (Körner, 2003 ). Due to unfavorable growth conditions, plant size generally decreases with increasing elevation (Coomes & Allen, 2007 ; Kiełtyk, 2021 ; Sigdel et al., 2023 ). It is generally believed that in high‐altitude environments, plant reproduction and population persistence suffer greater pressure, resulting in an increase in plant reproductive allocation as elevation increases (Fabbro & Körner, 2004 ; Rathee et al., 2021 ).…”

High-performing plastic clones best explain the spread of yellow monkeyflower from lowland to higher elevation areas in New Zealand

“…The direction of the strong plastic vegetative trait changes, such as leaf size and stolon length, in the range‐edge garden was atypical of plant species' response to increasing elevation. Plants commonly respond to increasing elevation by reducing investment in leaf area (Kiełtyk, 2021; Körner, 2007; Midolo et al, 2019; Rixen et al, 2022; Šťastná et al, 2012; Van Nuland et al, 2020) (but see Bustamante et al (2017) and if clonal, in having longer stolons (Deng et al, 2013)), allocating resources away from vegetative growth and into foraging. That we report the opposite, allocation of resources away from stolons into leafy, photosynthesising tissue in the range‐edge garden suggests that Cass may be a more suitable environment for E. gutatta than the core garden (Calero & Baruch, 1986; Gao et al, 2018).…”

Variation in Plant–Pollinator Network Structure along the Elevational Gradient of the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona

“…When pollinator species communities vary locally across the range of plant species, such as along environmental gradients, there may be intraspecific variation within the plants that reflect adaptive shifts to different pollinator presence [74,75]. Previous research has shown that plant communities may vary along an elevational gradient; because of limiting climatic factors at higher altitudes, such as decreased temperature and decreasing atmospheric pressure [72,75], there may be intraspecific morphological changes within plant species, such as decreased overall size, longer growing periods, shorter maximum height of individuals, and larger seed mass [16,75,76]. Local selection of beneficial traits for plant individuals at different climatic zones may assist with survival in harsher habitats [75].…”