Age of maturity in alpine herbaceous perennials in the northwest Caucasus

Abstract

Sod transplantation experiment was carried out for 24 years in alpine communities, Teberda Reserve, the North-West Caucasus, Russia. Age of maturity (AOM) was estimated as a period between first registra- tion of a species on.a permanent plot and flowering shoot appearance. Mean species AOM varied from 2.3 years (Antennaria dioica with clonal propagation) to 13.7 years for Taraxacum stevenii (non-clonal plant). General gradient of alpine plant traits and population strategies was determined. It represents a continuum ranging from ruderal--stress-tolerants (shorter AOM, clonality, shorter leaf life span, low rate of mycorrhizal infection, low regrowth ability, low generative shoot number, low specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content) to competitor--stress-tolerants (longer AOM, longer leaf life span, higher rate of mycorrhizal infection, higher regrowth ability, high generative shoot number, high specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen content).