Botanica Pacifica. A journal of plant science and conservation. 2015. 4(1) DOI: 10.17581/bp.2015.04101 Alpine plant communities of Tibet and Caucasus: in quest of functional convergence Tatiana G. Elumeeva 1, 2, Vladimir G. Onipchenko 1, Elena N. Rovnaia 1, Yan Wu 2 *, Marinus J. A. Werger 3 Tatiana G. Elumeeva 1, 2 ABSTRACT email:
[email protected] We compared aboveground phytomass structure and community weighed mean Vladimir G. Onipchenko 1 leaf traits (leaf area and specific leaf area) in alpine plant communities of Tibet email:
[email protected] (al pine shrub meadows and alpine bogs, grazed and fenced) and the Caucasus (al Elena N. Rovnaia 1 pine lichen heaths, Festuca varia grasslands, GeraniumHedysarum meadows, alpine email:
[email protected] snow beds and alpine fens). We tested, if (1) the communities at least partly show 2 functional convergence, (2) the mean community biomass weighed traits vary in Yan Wu * accordance with position along a catena, and (3) grazing influences community email:
[email protected] functional structure. To reveal the pattern of functional structure we run De tren Marinus J. A. Werger 3 ded Correspondence Analysis with the biomass of functional groups as variables email:
[email protected] and plots as cases. Position along a catena was the main driver, and the alpine fens of both Tibet and the Caucasus were the most similar in functional structure. Com munity biomass weighed specific leaf area increased with water availability 1 Department of Geobotany, Biological and from grassdominated to frequently disturbed forbdominated communities.