Browsing by Author "Onipchenko, Vladimir G."

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    Do afroalpine plants differ from other alpine plants by their leaf functional traits?
    (UoEm, 2023-06-16) Onipchenko, Vladimir G.; Kipkeev, Aliy M.; Kopylova, Natalia A.; Nyaga, Justine M.; Elumeeva, Tatiana G.; Dudova, Ksenia V.; Akhmetzhanova, Asem A.; Tiunov, Alexei V.; Karpukhin, Mikhail M.; Makarov, Mikhail I.
    Afroalpine plants develop under specific climate with great daily fluctuations and weak seasonal dynamics of temperature. Do leaf functional traits of the plants in Mt. Kenya differ from those of temperate plants in NW Caucasus? To answer this question, we conducted a comparative study at the Teleki valley (4000–4500 m a.s.l.), Mt. Kenya, Kenya, and Teberda national park (2600–2900 m a.s.l.), the Caucasus, Russia. We measured leaf area, fresh and dry mass, C, N, P, δ 13 C, δ 15 N and derivative traits (specific leaf area – SLA, leaf dry matter content – LDMC, C:N and N:P ratios) for 48 species at the Teleki valley, and the same traits, except for the δ 13 C and δ 15 N, for 141 species in the Teberda national park. The CSR-stra tegies scores were calculated. We applied the Principal Component Analysis to reveal the main patterns of trait variation. Leaf dry mass of Mt. Kenya alpine plants ranged from 0.27 mg (Sagina afroalpina) to 14.0 g (Dendrosenecio kenio den dron). Leaf area, mass and LDMC of alpine plants in both regions did not differ significantly. The SLA of Mt. Kenya’s plants varied about 20-fold: from 2.6 mm 2 mg -1 (Festuca pilgeri) to 39.8 mm 2 mg -1 (Cineraria deltoidea), and Caucasian plants had higher SLA. N and P leaf concentrations were higher, but C lower in Caucasian plants than in Kenyan. Leaf N:P ratio was similar for both regions, while C:N ratio was higher in Kenyan plants. Species of “rosette” trees (Dendrosenecio spp.) differed from other species by size characteristics (maximal leaf dry mass and area were in Dendrosenecio kenioden­ dron), as well as correspondingly higher investment to mechanical tissues (high C:N ratio, low SLA). By the other functional traits, “rosette” trees were similar to many other alpine plants. Thus, afroalpine plants of Mt. Kenya are close to temperate alpine plants by some leaf functional traits, but possess higher stress-tolerance.
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    Low foristic richness of afro‐alpine vegetation of Mount Kenya is related to its small area
    (Springer, 2019-10-29) Nyaga, Justine M.; Onipchenko, Vladimir G.; Kopylova, Natalia A.; Kipkeev, Alii M.; Elumeeva, Tatiana G.; Azovsky, Andrei; Dudov, Sergei V.
    Diversity patterns of tropical alpine vegetation is poorly studied. We estimated vascular plant floristic richness for two typical afro-alpine communities in Mount Kenya using a series of nested plots sized from 25 to 100 m2. The α-diversity was low for all plot sizes (4.8–7.8 and 12.8 species per one and 100 m2, respectively). Comparative analysis of α-, β- and γ-diversity across 22 plant communities from five Mountain regions (Mount Kenya, European Alps, Caucasus, Tibet, New Zealand Alps) revealed that area of mountain system was the only significant variable shaping the local richness; this effect became stronger with increasing spatial scale. Beta-diversity, by contrast, showed neither latitudinal trends nor significant correlation with other geographical or climatic variables. We conclude that the total area of mountain system is one of the main factors determining the regional species pool and, ultimately, the local diversity of alpine plant communities (the “echo-effect”). Small area and isolation of Mt. Kenya are considered as the main reasons for low local richness of its afro-alpine vegetation.