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Eco-physiological trait variation in widely occurring species of Western Himalaya along elevational gradients reveals their high adaptive potential in stressful conditions

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Abstract

Species distributed across a wide elevation range have broad environmental tolerance and adopt specific adaptation strategies to cope with varying climatic conditions. The aim of this study is to understand the patterns of variation in leaf eco-physiological traits that are related to the adaptation of species with a wide distribution in different climatic conditions. We studied the variability in eco-physiological traits of two co-occurring species of Western Himalaya (Rumex nepalensis and Taraxacum officinale), along elevational gradients. We conducted our study in elevations ranging from 1000 to 4000 m a.s.l. in three transects separated in an eco-region spanning 2.5° latitudes and 2.3° longitudes in the Western Himalaya. We hypothesized substantial variation in eco-physiological traits, especially increased net rate of photosynthesis (PN), Rubisco specific activity (RSA), and biochemicals at higher elevations, enabling species to adapt to varying environmental conditions. Therefore, the photosynthetic measurements along with leaf sampling were carried out during the months of June–August and the variations in photosynthetic performance and other leaf traits were assessed. Data was analyzed using a linear mixed effect model with ‘species,’ ‘elevation’ as fixed and ‘transect’ as random factor. Elevation had a significant effect on majority of traits. It was found that PN and maximum carboxylation rate of Rubisco (Vcmax) have unimodal or declining trend along increasing elevations. High RSA was observed at higher elevations in all the three transects. Trends for biochemical traits such as total soluble sugars, total soluble proteins, proline, and total phenolics content suggested an increase in these traits for the survival of plants in harsh environments of higher elevations. Our study reveals that although there is considerable variation in the eco-physiological traits of the two species across elevational gradients of different transects, there are certain similarities in the patterns that depict their high adaptive potential in varying climatic conditions.

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Data Availability

The data presented in this study is available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The author’s wish to thank Director, CSIR-IHBT Palampur for providing the necessary facilities. Mr. Om Parkash and Mr. Girja Nand are acknowledged for field surveys. Ms. Nang Elennie Hopak and Mr. Rahul Rana are acknowledged for help during plant sampling, whereas Mr. Bittu Thakur is acknowledged for help during data analysis. This is CSIR-IHBT Publication No. 5471.

Funding

This study was supported by a financial grant from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (Project MLP 0205).

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  1. Environmental Technology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, H.P, India

    Nandita Mehta & Amit Chawla

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Nandita Mehta & Amit Chawla

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AC: envisaged and planned the work. AC and NM: conducted the field survey and spotted the study sites. NM: conducted the field experiment and sampling and performed all the lab eco-physiological and biochemical analysis. AC and NM: analyzed the data and prepared the draft of the manuscript. Manuscript editing was done by AC. Both the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Amit Chawla.

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Mehta, N., Chawla, A. Eco-physiological trait variation in widely occurring species of Western Himalaya along elevational gradients reveals their high adaptive potential in stressful conditions. Photosynth Res 159, 29–59 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-023-01071-5

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