Adaptive strategies and driving factors of a montane riparian tree: Trait-specific mechanisms across latitude

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Investigating the drivers of phenotypic and genetic divergence can reveal the underlying processes and strategies that species adopt in rapidly changing environments. However, knowledge of adaptive strategies and the underlying mechanisms is lacking for the majority of taxa, especially those living in habitats sensitive to climate change. Here, we investigated 20 populations of a Tertiary-relict tree species, Euptelea pleiospermum (Eupteleaceae), scattered in a mountain riparian habitat in China. We integrated genetic, growth, and reproductive traits, and evaluated the relative contributions of climatic and soil factors on genetic and functional trait divergence. The E. pleiospermum populations were divided into south and north genetic clusters, and there were significant differences in leaf density and seed mass of adult trees between the two. The spatial pattern of genetic divergence resulted from effects of both isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by environment (IBE), whereas the divergence of growth and reproductive traits resulted solely from IBE effects. Spatial distance and selection by temperature and soils played dominant roles in genetic divergence. Precipitation drove the spatial divergence of sprouting. Both divergence of leaf density and seed mass were prominently induced by genetic divergence, and the influences might be enhanced by temperature and soil nutrients. We infer that E. pleiospermum populations adopt a resource-conservative strategy with low growth rates and higher sprouting under flooding disturbance, with larger seeds for improved seedling recruitment at lower latitudes. In contrast, high growth rate and sexual reproduction with small seeds are strategies adopted by populations at higher latitudes. We conclude that sprouting reflects a plastic response to precipitation, and leaf density and seed mass reflect local adaption under selection by temperature and soil factors. The underlying mechanisms of species adaptation strategies were trait-specific. Temperature and soil conditions are likely the main ecological factors shaping plant divergence in montane riparian regions.