Growth rate of mosses and their environmental determinants in subalpine coniferous forests and clear-cuts at the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China |
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| Authors: | Qian Wang Ning Wu Peng Luo Shaoliang Yi Weikai Bao Fusun Shi |
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| Institution: | (1) Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China |
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| Abstract: | Mosses cover most of the forest floor of subalpine forests at the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the origin
of many important rivers in China. They play a crucial role in preventing soil erosion and conserving large amounts of water
thereby regulating the water budget of local ecosystems. This area has a harsh climate due to low temperatures and low air
pressure at high elevations. But the temperature varies considerably during the growing season, which does not favor the regeneration
of spruce seedlings on clear-cuts after logging. Leaves of mosses have a single layer of cells and are thus sensitive to environmental
changes. This attribute may be useful for monitoring environmental conditions and guide artificial regeneration. The growth
of mosses has never been studied in this area and the variables indicating their growth in the subalpine forest ecosystems
still needs investigation.
Growth rates of mosses have been rarely studied worldwide because the methods are time consuming and often inaccurate. A more
simple and accurate method for measuring moss growth would help and encourage relevant research. We have found a method that
will promote the efficiency in field measurements. Because of the special growth properties of mosses, the apical cell of
branches initiates growth and the preceding leaves will stay where they were as the tips grow. Once mosses are marked with
red oil at the tip of branches surrounded by young leaves, that portion of the branch above the marked leaves represents growth
after labeling.
Two plots, one in an old-growth spruce forest and another in a nearby clear-cut, were selected to label mosses in a subalpine
area of western Sichuan Province during the growing season in 2001. The labeling was done on May 7 and measurements were made
on August 7. Microclimate measurements on both sites were simultaneously carried out.
Of the six mosses, five species were present in both the forest and on the clear-cut. One species, Entodon conncinus, was found only on the clear-cut. The growth rates of mosses varied among species and habitats. Hylocomium splendens grew the fastest while Dicranum assamicum had the slowest growth rate. Habitat conditions have a distinct effect on the growth of Hylocomium splendens, Dicranum assamicum and Thuidium lepidoziaceum and their growth rates were higher in forests than on clear-cuts. The growth rates of these mosses increased as their habitat
approached the forest. Actinothuidium hookeri and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus have moderate growth rates and is almost entirely independent of the type of habitat. The mosses can therefore be classified
into habitat-sensitive and habitat-insensitive types. Analysis of microclimate characteristics shows that from May to July,
the solar radiation level is lower and the environment is drier in the forest than those on the clear-cut. But a vapor pressure
deficit (VPD) regime shows that the VPD in the morning is almost always lower in the forest than that on the clear-cut. With lower radiation and VPD, forests are more favorable to moss growth. For habitat-insensitive species, favorable micro-topographic factors might have
offset the effect of habitat type.
VPD is strongly correlated with the growth of mosses. Eco-physiological characteristics, such as poikilohydry, play an important
role in the survival and growth of mosses under harsh climatic conditions. Temperature and humidity are two factors critical
for seedling establishment in artificial regeneration processes in the subalpine areas of western Sichuan. Since the growth
of mosses is a function of the two factors, moss growth rates can be used to indicate the more favorable habitats. Therefore,
the status of moss growth can be used to indicate habitats potentially favorable to the growth of tree seedlings.
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Translated from Journal of Plant Ecology, 2007, 31(3): 464–469 译自: 植物生态学报] |
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| Keywords: | moss growth rate vapor pressure deficit solar radiation clear-cut old-growth spruce forest |
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