BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Understanding interspecific differences in plant growth rates and their internal and external drivers is key to predicting species responses to ongoing environmental changes. Annual growth rates vary among plants based on their ecological preferences, growth forms, ecophysiological adaptations and evolutionary history. However, the relative importance of these factors remains unclear, particularly in high-mountain ecosystems experiencing rapid changes. METHODS: We examined how habitat associations, elevational optima, growth forms, and ecophysiological and anatomical traits influence interspecific differences in radial growth rates among 324 vascular dicot species naturally occurring in the western Himalayas. Growth rates were determined from annual ring width measurements on the oldest plant sections of over 7800 individuals from a range of habitats (desert, steppe, wetland, alpine, subnival), growth forms (perennial tap-rooted, rhizomatous, cushiony, woody) and climatic gradients (elevations of 2650-6150 m). KEY RESULTS: Habitat associations accounted for 24 % of the variability in interspecific growth rates. Adding growth form and height increased the explanation to 42 %, and incorporating plant functional traits further improved predictions to 46 %. Growth rates were higher in warmer, drier conditions and lower in cold, wet environments. Subnival cushion plants had the slowest growth, while ruderal plants grew the fastest. Desert plants showed higher growth rates, reflecting their drought adaptive strategies, while wetland forbs had lower growth rates due to increased resource competition. Growth was positively correlated with leaf nitrogen content and non-structural carbohydrates (mainly fructans), due to enhanced photosynthesis and stress tolerance, and negatively correlated with leaf carbon and root nitrogen content. CONCLUSION: Our study of 324 dicot species in the western Himalayas suggests that plant growth in high elevations is determined by a combination of habitat conditions, morphological traits and ecophysiological adaptations. Growth variations among the highest-growing angiosperms reflect adaptive strategies along the global 'fast-slow' and 'acquisitive-conservative' spectrums. These results underscore the importance of habitat-specific studies for predicting plant growth responses to environmental changes, emphasizing a species-specific approach for effective conservation in fragile ecosystems.

• Klíčová slova
• Fast–slow economics spectrum, Himalayan plants, ecophysiology, functional traits, herbchronology, high-elevation plants, plant growth,
• MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• ekosystém * MeSH
• fyziologická adaptace * MeSH
• nadmořská výška MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Indie MeSH

Climate warming stimulates growth and reproduction in cold-adapted plants but also leads to extreme weather events that may hinder their performance. We examined these predictions in the cold-arid Himalayan subnival zone at 5900 m, where unprecedented warming and extreme snowfalls occurred over the past three decades. We collected 205 individuals of Ladakiella klimesii, analyzing climate influences on their growth and recruitment through annual growth rings. Radial growth was highly sensitive to summer temperatures, with warmer conditions significantly enhancing growth. However, increased winter precipitation negatively impacted growth and recruitment by shortening the growing season. Warmer winters and springs, combined with autumn snow cover, favored recruitment, while extreme late winter and summer snowfall disrupted growth and recruitment through intensified soil disturbances. We also found a trade-off between growth rate and longevity: Plants established during warmer periods grow rapidly but have shorter lifespans, whereas those emerging in colder conditions grow more slowly yet persist longer, with implications for long-term population stability. These findings highlight the complex relationship between growth, longevity, and survival in a shifting climate. Although warming promotes growth, it may also decrease longevity and population persistence. The rising frequency of extreme snowfall presents new survival challenges for the world's highest-occurring plants.

• Klíčová slova
• alpine ecosystems, climate warming, frost‐free days, growth ring analyses, growth–longevity trade‐off, herb‐chronology, plant recruitment and growth, subnival plants,
• MeSH
• globální oteplování * MeSH
• klimatické změny * MeSH
• nadmořská výška * MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• sníh * MeSH
• teplota MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Under the contemporary climate change, the Himalaya is reported to be warming at a much higher rate than the global average. However, little is known about the alpine vegetation responses to recent climate change in the rapidly warming Himalaya. Here we studied vegetation dynamics on alpine summits in Kashmir Himalaya in relation to in situ measured microclimate. The summits, representing an elevation gradient from treeline to nival zone (3530-3740 m), were first surveyed in 2014 and then re-surveyed in 2018. The initial survey showed that the species richness, vegetation cover and soil temperature decreased with increasing elevation. Species richness and soil temperature differed significantly among slopes, with east and south slopes showing higher values than north and west slopes. The re-survey showed that species richness increased on the lower three summits but decreased on the highest summit (nival zone) and also revealed a substantial increase in the cover of dominant shrubs, graminoids, and forbs. The nestedness-resultant dissimilarity, rather than species turnover, contributed more to the magnitude of β-diversity among the summits. High temporal species turnover was found on south and east aspects, while high nestedness was recorded along north and west aspects. Thermophilization was more pronounced on the lower two summits and along the northern aspects. Our study provides crucial scientific data on climate change impacts on the alpine vegetation of Kashmir Himalaya. This information will fill global knowledge gaps from the developing world.

• Klíčová slova
• Himalaya, alpine ecosystem, climate change, mountain summits, species richness, thermophilization, β-diversity,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Alpine cushion plants can initially facilitate other species during ecological succession, but later on can be negatively affected by their development, especially when beneficiaries possess traits allowing them to overrun their host. This can be reinforced by accelerated warming favouring competitively strong species over cold-adapted cushion specialists. However, little empirical research has addressed the trait-based mechanisms of these interactions. The ecological strategies of plants colonizing the cushion plant Thylacospermum caespitosum (Caryophyllaceae), a dominant pioneer of subnival zones, were studied in the Western Himalayas. METHODS: To assess whether the cushion colonizers are phylogenetically and functionally distinct, 1668 vegetation samples were collected, both in open ground outside the cushions and inside their live and dead canopies, in two mountain ranges, Karakoram and Little Tibet. More than 50 plant traits related to growth, biomass allocation and resource acquisition were measured for target species, and the phylogenetic relationships of these species were studied [or determined]. KEY RESULTS: Species-based trait-environment analysis with phylogenetic correction showed that in both mountain ranges Thylacospermum colonizers are phylogenetically diverse but functionally similar and are functionally different from species preferring bare soil outside cushions. Successful colonizers are fast-growing, clonal graminoids and forbs, penetrating the cushion by rhizomes and stolons. They have higher root-to-shoot ratios, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, and soil moisture and nutrient demands, sharing the syndrome of competitive species with broad elevation ranges typical of the late stages of primary succession. In contrast, the species from open ground have traits typical of stress-tolerant specialists from high and dry environments. CONCLUSION: Species colonizing tight cushions of T. caespitosum are competitively strong graminoids and herbaceous perennials from alpine grasslands. Since climate change in the Himalayas favours these species, highly specialized subnival cushion plants may face intense competition and a greater risk of decline in the future.

• Klíčová slova
• Abiotic stress, Himalaya, Ladakh, alpine, arid, competition, facilitation, global warming, plant–plant interactions, subnival plant communities,
• MeSH
• biodiverzita MeSH
• biomasa MeSH
• Caryophyllaceae růst a vývoj   MeSH
• druhová specificita MeSH
• klimatické změny * MeSH
• Magnoliopsida růst a vývoj   MeSH
• nadmořská výška * MeSH
• zvláštnosti životní historie * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Indie MeSH

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and dark septate endophytes (DSE) form symbiotic relationships with plants influencing their productivity, diversity and ecosystem functions. Only a few studies on these fungi, however, have been conducted in extreme elevations and none over 5500 m a.s.l., although vascular plants occur up to 6150 m a.s.l. in the Himalayas. We quantified AMF and DSE in roots of 62 plant species from contrasting habitats along an elevational gradient (3400-6150 m) in the Himalayas using a combination of optical microscopy and next generation sequencing. We linked AMF and DSE communities with host plant evolutionary history, ecological preferences (elevation and habitat type) and functional traits. We detected AMF in elevations up to 5800 m, indicating it is more constrained by extreme conditions than the host plants, which ascend up to 6150 m. In contrast, DSE were found across the entire gradient up to 6150 m. AMF diversity was unimodally related to elevation and positively related to the intensity of AMF colonization. Mid-elevation steppe and alpine plants hosted more diverse AMF communities than plants from deserts and the subnival zone. Our results bring novel insights to the abiotic and biotic filters structuring AMF and DSE communities in the Himalayas.

• MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• endofyty klasifikace   cytologie   genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• kořeny rostlin mikrobiologie   MeSH
• mikroskopie MeSH
• mykorhiza klasifikace   fyziologie   MeSH
• nadmořská výška MeSH
• symbióza * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Indie MeSH