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Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (qinghai-tibetan + plateau)
Selected AbstractsStorage, patterns and controls of soil organic carbon in the Tibetan grasslandsGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 7 2008YUANHE YANG Abstract The soils of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau store a large amount of organic carbon, but the magnitude, spatial patterns and environmental controls of the storage are little investigated. In this study, using data of soil organic carbon (SOC) in 405 profiles collected from 135 sites across the plateau and a satellite-based dataset of enhanced vegetation index (EVI) during 2001,2004, we estimated storage and spatial patterns of SOC in the alpine grasslands. We also explored the relationships between SOC density (soil carbon storage per area) and climatic variables and soil texture. Our results indicated that SOC storage in the top 1 m in the alpine grasslands was estimated at 7.4 Pg C (1 Pg=1015 g), with an average density of 6.5 kg m,2. The density of SOC decreased from the southeastern to the northwestern areas, corresponding to the precipitation gradient. The SOC density increased significantly with soil moisture, clay and silt content, but weakly with mean annual temperature. These variables could together explain about 72% of total variation in SOC density, of which 54% was attributed to soil moisture, suggesting a key role of soil moisture in shaping spatial patterns of SOC density in the alpine grasslands. [source] Delayed Selfing in an Alpine Biennial Gentianopsis paludosa (Gentianaceae) in the Qinghai-Tibetan PlateauJOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2010Yuan-Wen Duan Delayed selfing could provide ovules with an opportunity to be fertilized as a means of "pollination assurance" before the flowers wilt. It could, thus, be regarded as an adaptation to unpredictable pollinator environments. Within the alpine biennial Gentianopsis paludosa, the showy flowers and herkogamy at the early stage of a flower's life cycle may favor outcrossing. As the flower ages, anthers contact the central stigma due to the elongation of all filaments, resulting in autonomous selfing. Flower visitors are extremely rare in a high altitude population; and examination of the mating system indicates that G. paludosa is self-pollinated under natural conditions in this population. While at the lower altitude, the bumblebee visitation rate is relatively high but possibly unreliable. Stigma receptivity is the highest on the third day of anthesis, and decreases thereafter. Pollen viability is the highest when flowers open, and gradually decreases later. Self-pollination of G. paludosa occurs at the late stage of a flower's lifecycle when stigma receptivity and pollen viability have both decreased, suggesting delayed selfing and assurance of seed production. This delayed selfing could assure seed production under the constraints of pollinator scarcity, but ensure outcrossing when pollinators were available. Such a flexible pollination mechanism is highly adaptive in the alpine environment of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. [source] Phylogenetic Origin of Phyllolobium with a Further Implication for Diversification of Astragalus in ChinaJOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 9 2009Mingli Zhang Abstract Astragalus is a species-rich genus occurring in the western arid habitats in China and its diversification and infrageneric relationships in this region remain unclear. In the present study, based on molecular data, we aim to (i) test whether Phyllolobium (previously treated as a subgenus Pogonophace in Astragalus) should be warranted; and (ii) date the origin of Phyllolobium and probable diversification of Astragalus sensu stricto (s.s.). We sequenced five species from Phyllolobium first and collected all related sequences from the genus, Astragalus s.s and their close relatives (Oxytropis and Caragana etc.). Our phylogenetic analyses suggested that all species of Phyllolobium comprise a monophyletic sister-group to genera of the subtribe Coluteinae. Molecular dating suggested that Phyllolobium and Astragalus s.s. originated around 8 and 10 million years ago. These two estimates are highly consistent with the intense uplifts of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau inferred from geological evidence. In addition, one section of Pogonophace (Sect. Robusti) was estimated to originate 2.5 million years ago and this section with a tendency for dry habitats seems to be evidence of Asian intensified aridity resulting from the intense uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. [source] Germination is related to seed mass in grasses (Poaceae) of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, ChinaNORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY, Issue 5-6 2007Gaolin Wu Seed germination is a vulnerable stage in the plant life cycle. Many studies have focused on effects of seed mass on seed germination within a single species, but few studies have compared species of a common habitat. Poaceae plants are widely distributed on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We investigated how seed mass affect seed germination characters with forty-seven species of Poaceae typical to the alpine meadows of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The frequency of seed mass classes for these species produced a log-normal distribution. The weight of the seeds varied from 0.11 mg to 14.4 mg, and the weight variation nearly reached 103%. There were positive correlations between seed mass and germination index (R=0.331, p<0.05) and between seed mass and germination percentage (R=0.168, p>0.05). The results suggest that seed mass of the Poaceae family on the eastern Qinghai,Tibetan plateau is comparatively log-normal distributed as consistent with other studies, and the larger-seed species have faster germination than the smaller-seed species. Seed mass could be considered as one of the maintenance and construction mechanisms for plant communities in alpine meadows. [source] Insect and wind pollination of an alpine biennial Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae)PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Y. W. Duan Abstract Wind pollination can provide reproductive insurance for animal-pollinated dioecious plants in the absence of available pollinators, but combinations of insect and wind pollination (ambophily) have rarely been studied in hermaphrodite herbs. We examined the stable occurrence of insect pollination and wind pollination over 4 years in a population of a biennial Aconitum species (A. gymnandrum) with actinomorphic and degenerate sepals. The total frequency of visits of two bumblebee species showed no distinct fluctuations in the studied population among the 4 years. However, seed production of netted flowers after emasculation indicated wind pollination had occurred. The seed number of bagged flowers with one visit by bumblebees was significantly less than that of netted flowers after one visit, or in control flowers. Both seed number and fruit set of netted flowers were significantly lower than in control flowers. These results suggest that wind pollination provides supplementary pollen to unvisited and/or once-visited flowers, but accounts for only a small amount of seed production compared to bumblebee pollination in natural conditions. Such a combination of insect and wind pollination might play an important role in maintaining sexual reproduction of this biennial herb, allowing it to persist in arid habitats on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, especially during Quaternary glacial periods when pollinator populations oscillated extensively. [source] Assessment of cattle genetic introgression into domestic yak populations using mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA markersANIMAL GENETICS, Issue 3 2010X. B. Qi Summary Hybridization between yak Poephagus grunniens and taurine Bos taurus or indicine B. indicus cattle has been widely practiced throughout the yak geographical range, and gene flow is expected to have occurred between these species. To assess the impact of cattle admixture on domestic yak, we examined 1076 domestic yak from 29 populations collected in China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Russia using mitochondrial DNA and 17 autosomal microsatellite loci. A cattle diagnostic marker-based analysis reveals cattle-specific mtDNA and/or autosomal microsatellite allele introgression in 127 yak individuals from 22 populations. The mean level of cattle admixture across the populations, calculated using allelic information at 17 autosomal microsatellite loci, remains relatively low (mYcattle = 2.66 ± 0.53% and Qcattle = 0.69 ± 2.58%), although it varies a lot across populations as well as among individuals within population. Although the level of cattle admixture shows a clear geographical structure, with higher levels of admixture in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Mongolian and Russian regions, and lower levels in the Himalayan and Pamir Plateau region, our results indicate that the level of cattle admixture is not significantly correlated with the altitude across geographical regions as well as within geographical region. Although yak-cattle hybridization is primarily driven to produce F1 hybrids, our results show that the subsequent gene flow between yak and cattle took place and has affected contemporary genetic make-up of domestic yak. To protect yak genetic integrity, hybridization between yak and cattle should be tightly controlled. [source] Application of microscopy in authentication of traditional Tibetan medicinal plant Halenia ellipticaMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 1 2008Jie Li Abstract Halenia elliptica D. Don, a popularly used ethnodrug from Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, was studied to reveal the indispensable morphoanatomic details. The fixed, sectioned, and stained plant materials as well as the epidermis, powder, and maceration materials were studied using light microscope according to the usual microscopic techniques. The results of the microscopic features were systematic described and illustrated. In the root, an endodermal cell was divided into 8-16-22 and 38-50-62 daughter cells in transverse section and in face view, respectively, and 9-11-13 phloem strands were present in primary structure; in the stem, stone cells were observed in the cortex, pericycle, and external phloem while 17-19-21 internal phloem strands were present in an incontinuous ring; in the pedicel, 8-10-12 internal phloem strands were observed to form an incontinuous ring; anisocytic and anomocytic stomata were present in leaf and sepal epidermis; pollen grain was with three germinal apertures and furrows; a few tracheids, a large number of spiral vessels, and various fibers were observed. Also, semiquantitative and quantitative micrographic parameter tables were simultaneously presented. Further, the key authentication parameters were concluded. The study indicated that light microscopy and related techniques could be unambiguously applied to the authentication of Halenia elliptica. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Comparative phylogeography of five avian species: implications for Pleistocene evolutionary history in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateauMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Y. QU Abstract Pleistocene climate fluctuations have shaped the patterns of genetic diversity observed in extant species. In contrast to Europe and North America where the effects of recent glacial cycles on genetic diversity have been well studied, the genetic legacy of the Pleistocene for the Qinghai-Tibetan (Tibetan) plateau, a region where glaciation was not synchronous with the North Hemisphere ice sheet maxima, remains poorly understood. Here, we compared the phylogeographical patterns of five avian species on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau by three mitochondrial DNA fragments: the Tibetan snow finch (Montifringilla adamsi), the Blanford's snow finch (Pyrgilauda blanfordi), the horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), the twite (Carduelis flavirostris) and the black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros). Our results revealed the three species mostly distributed on the platform region of the plateau that experienced population expansion following the retreat of the extensive glaciation period (0.5,0.175 Ma). These results are at odds with the results from avian species of Europe and North America, where population expansions occurred after Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 0.023,0.018 Ma). A single refugium was identified in a restricted semi-continuous area around the eastern margin of the plateau, instead of multiple independent refugia for European and North American species. For the other two species distributed on the edges of the plateau (the twite and black redstart), populations were maintained at stable levels. Edge areas are located on the eastern margin, which might have had little or no ice cover during the glaciation period. Thus, milder climate may have mitigated demographic stresses for edge species relative to the extremes experienced by platform counterparts, the present-day ranges of which were heavily ice covered during the glaciation period. Finally, various behavioural and ecological characteristics, including dispersal capacities, habitat preference and altitude specificity along with evolutionary history might have helped to shape different phylogeographical structures appearing in these five species. [source] Germination is related to seed mass in grasses (Poaceae) of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, ChinaNORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY, Issue 5-6 2007Gaolin Wu Seed germination is a vulnerable stage in the plant life cycle. Many studies have focused on effects of seed mass on seed germination within a single species, but few studies have compared species of a common habitat. Poaceae plants are widely distributed on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. We investigated how seed mass affect seed germination characters with forty-seven species of Poaceae typical to the alpine meadows of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The frequency of seed mass classes for these species produced a log-normal distribution. The weight of the seeds varied from 0.11 mg to 14.4 mg, and the weight variation nearly reached 103%. There were positive correlations between seed mass and germination index (R=0.331, p<0.05) and between seed mass and germination percentage (R=0.168, p>0.05). The results suggest that seed mass of the Poaceae family on the eastern Qinghai,Tibetan plateau is comparatively log-normal distributed as consistent with other studies, and the larger-seed species have faster germination than the smaller-seed species. Seed mass could be considered as one of the maintenance and construction mechanisms for plant communities in alpine meadows. [source] | ||||||||||