Integrating morphological, anatomical, and physiological traits to explain elevational distributions in Himalayan steppe and alpine plants.

ABSTRACT: Understanding plant adaptive strategies that determine species distributions and ecological optima is crucial for predicting responses to global change drivers. While functional traits provide mechanistic insights into distribution patterns, the specific trait syndromes that best predict elevational optima, particularly in less-studied regions such as the Himalayas, remain unclear. This study employs a novel hierarchical framework integrating morphological, anatomical, and physiological traits to explain elevational distributions among 310 plant species across a 3,500-m gradient (2,650-6,150 m). We analyzed 95,000 floristic records collected from 4,062 localities spanning 80,000 km² in Ladakh, NW Himalayas, India, to define elevational optima and link them with 17 functional tra

SUBMITTER: Binter J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12498082 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature