Which Plant Strategies Are Related to Dominanсе in Alpine Communities?

Abstract

The numerical estimation of ecological strategies (according to the classification of J. Grime) can contribute to plant dominance iunder certain environmental conditions. Alpine plants are traditionally considered as stress-tolerators (S) that are adapted to low temperatures and poor soils. We assessed the hypothesis that the C strategy is more expressed in relatively productive alpine meadows, whereas the R strategy is more important in communities with a short growing season and a heavy snow cover. The structure of the aboveground biomass (ratio between the species) and the parameters of leaves of all species of vascular plants were studied in four communities (alpine lichen heath, ALH; Festuca varia grassland, FVG; Geranium–Hedysarum meadow, GHM, and snowbed community, SBC). Based on these values, the contribution of the C, S, R components to the overall strategy of each species (according to S. Peirce et al.) and the weighted mean values ​​of the contribution of strategies for each community were calculated. The a priori hypothesis was confirmed, while the dominant species showed an increase in the role of stress tolerance on ALH and FVG and competitiveness on GHMs, which indicates the adaptability of these strategies in the studied communities. The contribution of C and S is in good agreement with the role of competition in the formation of various communities: it is maximal for GHMs, in which the C strategy is expressed, and minimal for FVGs, in which stress tolerance is most pronounced.