The third dimension of alpine plant leaf traits is related to cold-tolerance.

ABSTRACT: Alpine plants possess unique traits to adapt alpine environments. Whether leaf trait relationships of alpine plants can be captured by the two trait dimensions of organ size and resource economics is unknown. We hypothesized that, beyond the trait dimensions of leaf size and resource economics, non-structured carbohydrates (NSC) would reflect a dimension of cold-tolerance in alpine plants. To test this hypothesis, we measured 12 leaf traits critical to leaf construction and growth in 143 species across 7 sites ranging from alpine steppes to alpine meadows along an environmental gradient on the Tibetan Plateau. Furthermore, a cold resistance experiment was conducted at one of these sites to estimate the lethal temperature causing 50% frost damage (LT₅₀) of 11 alpine species. The

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11873570 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature