This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to da...

Aim Since ecological and evolutionary context changes when a plant species is introduced to a new area, it can be assumed that responses of alien plants to changing conditions along environmental gradients differ from those in their native range. Even if seed availability is not limited, the distribution of alien plants along such a gradient might still be restricted by their ability to germina...

Soil microbial carbon-use efficiency (CUE), described as the ratio of growth over total carbon (C) uptake, i.e. sum and respiration, is a key variable in all soil organic matter (SOM) models critical to ecosystem C cycling. However, there still lack consensus on CUE when estimated using different methods. Furthermore, significance many fundamental drivers remains largely unknown inconclusive, e...

The tendency for flower longevity to increase with altitude is believed by many alpine ecologists to play an important role in compensating for low pollination rates at high altitudes due to cold and variable weather conditions. However, current studies documenting an altitudinal increase in flower longevity in the alpine habitat derive principally from studies on open-pollinated flowers where ...

BACKGROUND Understanding altitudinal patterns of biological diversity and their underlying mechanisms is critically important for biodiversity conservation in mountainous regions. The contribution of area to plant diversity patterns is widely acknowledged and may mask the effects of other determinant factors. In this context, it is important to examine altitudinal patterns of corrected taxon ri...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The persistence of plants inhabiting restricted alpine areas under climate change will depend upon many factors including levels of genetic variation in adaptive traits, population structure, and breeding system. METHODS Using microsatellite markers, the genetic structure of populations of a relatively common alpine grass, Poa hiemata, is examined across three altitudinal ...

Mass loss rates of three types of leaf litter were measured along an altitudinal gradient at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, Macon County, North Carolina. Litterbags containing air dried litter from Quercus prinus L., Liriodendron tulipifera L., and Rhododendron maximum L. were placed in five plots along the gradient and sampled monthly. Microarthropods were extracted and sorted, and litter ...

This study aims to identify a set of areas with high biodiversity value over a small spatial scale within the Australian Wet Tropics. We identified sites of high biodiversity value across an altitudinal gradient of ground dwelling ant communities using three measures of biodiversity. The three measures considered were estimated species richness, complementarity between sites and evolutionary hi...

Multiple stress resistance traits were investigated in the cactophilic fly Drosophila buzzatii. Adults from seven populations derived from North-Western Argentina were compared with respect to traits relevant for thermal stress resistance and for resistance to other forms of environmental stress. The populations were collected along an altitudinal gradient spanning more than 2000 m in height, s...