Classification of plant functional types based on the nutrition traits: a case study on alpine meadow community in the Zoigê Plateau

Abstract

The ecological concept of Plant Functional Types (PFTs), which refers to the assemblage of plants with certain functional traits, has been introduced for the study of plant responses to the environment change and human disturbance. Taking the alpine meadow community in the Zoige Plateau as a study case, this paper classified PFTs in terms of plant nutrition traits. The sequential results are as follows. (1) The main herbages in the Zoige Plateau included 16 species in 5 families. Among the five families, Cyperaceae vegetation accounted for 81.37% of herbage area in total, while the remaining 4 families occupied less than 20%. As for the species, Kobresia setchwanensis Hand.-Maizz. was dominant, accounting for 48.74% of the total area; while the remaining 51.26% was comprised of Polygonum viviparum L., Anaphalis fiavescens Hand.-Mazz., Stipa aliena Keng and other species. (2) By using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the assessment of herbages nutrition was carried out based on the comprehensive multi-index evaluation model. Polygonum viviparum L. had the highest nutritional value score (1.43), and Stipa aliena Keng had the lowest (-1.40). Nutritional value of herbage species had a significantly positive correlation with altitude (P<0.01) in the Zoige Plateau. (3) Based on the nutritional values, herbages in the Zoige Plateau could be grouped into 3 nutrition PFTs (high, medium and low) by using the Natural Breaks (Jenks) method.