Age of maturity in alpine herbaceous perennials, the North-West Caucasus

作者：Kipkeev A M^*; Onipchenko V G; Tekeev D K; Erkenova M A; Salpagarova F S

来源：Zhurnal Obshchei Biologii, 2014, 75(4): 315-323.

Sod transplantation experiment was carried out for 24 years in alpine communities, Teberda Reserve, the North-West Caucasus, Russia. Age of maturity (AOM) was estimated as a period between first registration of a species on a permanent plot and flowering shoot appearance. Mean species AOM varied from 2.3 years (Antennaria dioica with clonal propagation) to 13.7 years for Taraxacum stevenii (non-clonal plant). General gradient of alpine plant traits and population strategies was determined. It represents a continuum ranging from ruderal - stress-tolerants (shorter AOM, clonality, shorter leaf life span, low rate of mycorrhizal infection, low regrowth ability, low generative shoot number, low specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content) to competitor - stress-tolerants (longer AOM, longer leaf life span, higher rate of rnycorrhizal infection, higher regrowth ability, high generative shoot number, high specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content).

• 出版日期2014-8