Global patterns of genetic variation in plant species along vertical and horizontal gradients on mountains
Takafumi Ohsawa,Yuji Ide +1 more
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Findings suggest that zoning by altitudes or ridges would be helpful for the conservation of tree populations with the onset of global warming and highlight the importance of phenotypic examinations in detecting altitudinal differences.Abstract:
Aim To understand global patterns of genetic variation in plant species on mountains and to consider the significance of mountains for the genetic structure and evolution of plant species. Location Global. Methods We review published studies. Results Genetic diversity within populations can vary along altitudinal gradients in one of four patterns. Eleven of 42 cited studies (26% of the total) found that populations at intermediate altitudes have greater diversity than populations at lower and higher altitudes. This is because the geographically central populations are under optimal environmental conditions, whereas the peripheral populations are in suboptimal situations. The second pattern, indicating that higher populations have less diversity than lower populations, was found in eight studies (19%). The third pattern, indicating that lower populations have lower diversity than higher populations, was found in 10 studies (24%). In 12 studies (29%), the intrapopulation genetic variation was found to be unaffected by altitude. Evidence of altitudinal differentiation was found in more than half of these studies, based on measurements of a range of variables including genome size, number of chromosomes or a range of loci using molecular markers. Furthermore, great variation has been found in phenotypes among populations at different altitudes in situ and in common garden experiments, even in cases where there was no associated variation in molecular composition. Mountains can be genetic barriers for species that are distributed at low elevations, but they can also provide pathways for species that occupy high-elevation habitats. [Correction added after publication 9 October 2007: ‘less diversity’ changed to ‘greater diversity’ in the second sentence of the Results section of the Abstract]. Main conclusions Genetic diversity within populations can vary along altitudinal gradients as a result of several factors. The results highlight the importance of phenotypic examinations in detecting altitudinal differences. The influence of mountain ridges on genetic differentiation varies depending, inter alia , on the elevation at which the species occurs. Based on these findings, zoning by altitudes or ridges would be helpful for the conservation of tree populations with the onset of global warming.read more
Citations
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BookDOI
Alpine treelines : functional ecology of the global high elevation tree limits
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define criteria to define temperature regimes at treeline 4.1 The task 1.2 Previous works 2.2 Definitions and conventions 2.3 Limitation, stress and disturbance 2.4 Altitude-related and other environmental drivers 2.5 Treeline nomenclature 3.1 Treeline taxa 3.2 The summit syndrome and other treeline depressions 3.3 Mass elevation effect 3.4 Treeline elevation 3.5 Time matters 3.6 Forest structure near treeline4.6 Dry matter allocation in treeline trees 7
Journal ArticleDOI
Altitudinal differentiation in growth and phenology among populations of temperate-zone tree species growing in a common garden
TL;DR: There is evidence that among-population differences in phenology were related to the annual temperature at the provenance sites for ash, beech, and oak, and evidence that significant altitudinal clines for growth were also revealed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Timing and duration of European larch growing season along altitudinal gradients in the Swiss Alps.
TL;DR: The 2007 European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) growing season was monitored along two elevational transects in the Lötschental valley in the Swiss Alps to provide new data on the timing and duration of basic growth processes and contributes to quantification of the impacts of global warming on tree growth and productivity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Local adaptation occurs along altitudinal gradient despite the existence of gene flow in the alpine plant species Festuca eskia
TL;DR: The coexistence of genetic differentiation, gene flow and phenotypic plasticity along altitudinal gradients provides an adaptive potential for Festuca eskia to successfully adapt to climate change.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plant health and global change - some implications for landscape management
Marco Pautasso,Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz,Ottmar Holdenrieder,Stéphane Pietravalle,N.K.G. Salama,Michael J. Jeger,Eckart Lange,Sigrid Hehl-Lange +7 more
TL;DR: The links between climate change and some key issues in plant health, including tree mortality, changes in wildfire regimes, biological invasions and the role of genetic diversity for ecosystem resilience are summarized.
References
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Low genetic differentiation among populations of Arabis serrata (Brassicaceae) along an altitudinal gradient
TL;DR: The extent of genetic differentiation among populations of fujihatazao, Arabis serrata along an altitudinal gradient at Mt. Fuji is investigated, suggesting that subpopulations at different altitudes are probably connected.
Journal ArticleDOI
Steep slopes promote downhill dispersal of Quercus crispula seeds and weaken the fine-scale genetic structure of seedling populations
TL;DR: The results showed that steeper slopes result in larger dispersions and smaller genetic structure of seedlings, a crucial step towards an understanding of the effect of topography on tree regeneration.
Journal Article
Genetic Diversity of Pinus massoniana Revealed by RAPD Markers
TL;DR: The significant positive correlations between population genetic diversity and its elevation suggested the populations at lower elevation harbor less genetic diversity than those at higher elevation.
Journal Article
Genetic variation of subalpine fir (Abies Lasiocarpa (HOOK.) NUTT.) in the Olympic Mountains, WA, USA
G. J. Ettl,D. L. Peterson +1 more
TL;DR: The genetic structure of subalpine fir along an elevation gradient in the Olympic Mountains, Washington is examined to test if selective pressures alter genotypic frequencies in response to steep environmental gradients over the elevation range of this species.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microsatellite variation of Quercus aquifolioides populations at varying altitudes in the Wolong natural reserve of China
TL;DR: Based on the available data, it is likely that the selective forces related to altitude are not strong enough to significantly differentiate the populations of Q. aquifolioides in terms of microsatellite variation.
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