Virtual issue: Alpine and subalpine plant communities: importance of plant growth, reproduction and community assemblage processes for changing environments

Takahashi, Koichi

doi:10.1007/s10265-018-1065-2

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…In various regions of the globe, climate warming has become a matter of fact. Forest vegetation may react more weakly or strongly to the change, but those forests occupying the very extreme edges of distribution are expected to be more sensitive to the climatic trend [1]. The shift of the forested zone borderline is an apparent indicator of climate change and of important events shaping the outlook of landscapes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photosynthetic Pigments in Siberian Pine and Fir under Climate Warming and Shift of the Timberline

Пахарькова

Borisova

Шарафутдинов

et al. 2020

Forests

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Research Highlights: For the first time, the Pinus sibirica Du Tour and Abies sibirica L. conifer forest at the West Sayan ridge timberline has been explored to reveal which species is likely to react to climate change and a shift of the timberline. Such a shift may modify the ecological functions of the forests. Background and Objectives: Long-term climate change has become obvious in the mountains of southern Siberia. Specifically, a half-century rise in annual mean temperatures has been observed, while precipitation remains unchanged. Trees growing at the timberline are likely to strongly react to climate alterations. The objective was to estimate which of the two species sharing the same habitat would benefit from climate alteration and shifting of the timberline. Materials and Methods: At several altitudes (from 1413 to 1724 m a.s.l.), samples of P. sibirica and A. sibirica needles have been collected and contents of chlorophyll a and b as well as carotenoids were measured in June 2019. The temperature of needles of the two species was measured in both cloudy and sunny weather conditions. Results: The studied species have been shown to have different patterns of pigment variations with the growth of altitude. The decline of chlorophylls and carotenoids was more pronounced in P. sibirica (ratio at timberline ca. 2.2) than in A. sibirica (ratio ca. 3.1). Accordingly, the electron transport rate decreased more strongly in P. sibirica at the timberline (ca. 37.2 μmol of electrons/m−2 s−1) than in A. sibirica (56.9 μmol of electrons/m−2 s−1). The temperatures of needles in both cloudy and sunny weather were higher in A. sibirica (10.5 and 43.3 °C, respectively) than in P. sibirica (3.8 and 24.2 °C, respectively). Conclusions: The considered physiological and ecological traits show that P. sibirica is better protected from higher-altitude hazards (excess insolation, rise of temperature etc.) than A. sibirica. P. sibirica may be therefore a more likely winner than A. sibirica in the movement of the mountain timberline under climate warming in the area.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photosynthetic Pigments in Siberian Pine and Fir under Climate Warming and Shift of the Timberline

Пахарькова

Borisova

Шарафутдинов

et al. 2020

Forests

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“…Natural plant communities are being threatened by environmental changes such as global warming and increased human activity (Malhi et al, 2020). Alpine and subalpine ecosystems with cool climatic conditions are thought to be sensitive to environmental changes (Takahashi, 2018). Georgia's high altitudes are abundant in plant life, with a genetic diversity of medicinal plants, a wild relative of crop plants, and other economically important species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The subalpine and alpine vegetation of the Georgian Caucasus - a first ethnobotanical and phytosociological synopsis

Nakhutsrishvili¹,

Batsatsashvili²,

Bussmann

et al. 2022

Ethnobot. Res. App.

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Background: The Republic of Georgia is part of the Caucasus biodiversity hotspot, and human agricultural plant use dates back at least 6000 years. Over the last years lots of ethnobotanical research on the area has been published. In this paper we analyze the use of food plants in the 80% of Georgia not occupied by Russian forces. We hypothesized that, (1) given the long tradition of plant use, and the isolation under Soviet rule, plant use both based on home gardens and wild harvesting would be more pronounced in Georgia than in the wider region, (2) food plant use knowledge would be widely and equally spread in most of Georgia, (3) there would still be incidence of knowledge loss despite wide plant use, especially in climatically favored agricultural regions in Western and Eastern Georgia. The alpine vegetation of the Caucasus hotspot has fascinated botanists for centuries. Given the very complicated biogeographic setting, a concise classification of vegetation communities has however eluded science so far.Methods: The present work, based on 619 plots, is the first study to attempt a concise phytosociological classification. Even given this large number of samples a complete vegetation classification still proved difficult, and more releveés are needed for a detailed assessment, following Braun-Blanquet. It is also the first attempt to give an overview on plant uses in the alpine and subalpine areas of Georgia.For plant uses we employed the very large dataset that we gathered all over Georgia interviewing over 300 participants from 2014-2019. For the vegetation analysis we employed traditional phytosociological table work combined with an analysis based on species composition, coverage and abiotic factors using "R", compared to a classification using "Twinspan". From 2013 to 2019 we also interviewed over 380 participants in all regions of Georgia not occupied by Russian forces. All interviews were carried out in the participants' homes and gardens by native speakers of Georgian and its dialects (Imeretian, Rachian, Lechkhumian, Tush, Khevsurian, Psavian, Kakhetian), other Kartvelian languages (Megrelian, Svan) and minority languages (Ossetian, Ude, Azeri, Armenian, Greek).Results: We found that 183 species of the subalpine and alpine flora, representing about 33% of all species encountered in the vegetation survey, had reported uses. The usage of alpine and subalpine species in Georgia is mostly focused on the use of the plants as fodder, which is unsurprising. Green crops such as Lactuca sativa, Phaseolus vulgaris, Ocimum basilicum, Mentha x piperita, Allium cepa, and Artemisia dracunculus are grown virtually everywhere. Cucurbita pepo, Cucumis sativus, Solanum melongena, and Zea mays, all introduced species, were discovered to be popular elements in local cuisine. In human and veterinary medicine, however, Matricaria chamomilla, Berberis vulgaris, and Juniperus hemisphaerica are still used. There are two vegetation classes: Bromopsis variegatae -Festucaetea ovinea (Class. nov.) (Subalpine pastures), which has...

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“…Alpine and subalpine plant communities are considered to be vulnerable to global change and human impact. Environmental influences on plant distribution, species diversity, and regeneration dynamics of plant communities at high altitudes for future conservation must be considered (Takahashi 2018). This virtual issue highlighted 13 articles published after 2010 in the Journal of Plant Research (Guerrina et al 2016;Hirota et al 2010;Manish et al 2017;Namgail et al 2012;Ozaki et al 2018 We welcome new Editors and Editorial Board members who began their 4-year terms in January 2019: Drs.…”

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confidence: 99%

New year’s greetings 2019 from the Journal of Plant Research

Hikosaka

2019

J Plant Res

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Virtual issue: Alpine and subalpine plant communities: importance of plant growth, reproduction and community assemblage processes for changing environments

Cited by 6 publications

References 56 publications

Photosynthetic Pigments in Siberian Pine and Fir under Climate Warming and Shift of the Timberline

Photosynthetic Pigments in Siberian Pine and Fir under Climate Warming and Shift of the Timberline

The subalpine and alpine vegetation of the Georgian Caucasus - a first ethnobotanical and phytosociological synopsis

New year’s greetings 2019 from the Journal of Plant Research

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