The impact of climate change on Rocky Mountain plant communities: Differences in floral trait along an elevational gradient of transplanted communities
Abstract
Alpine climates are seemingly adverse environments for plants. These habitats directly impact plants via pollinator scarcity and abiotic factors like extreme temperatures and precipitation that influence resource allocation. As a result, elevational gradients are natural laboratories that can be used to examine how climate shapes plant form, function, and diversity. The aim of this project is to assess the effects of temperature and snowmelt date on the floral traits and reproductive phenology of experimental transplanted communities along an elevational gradient. Traits measured in this study were flower length, diameter, petal length, and height of the highest flower; phenology stages recorded were bud, flower, withered petals, and fruiting. Data collection occurred along three subalpine meadow sites off of Washington Gulch Road in Crested Butte, CO, each of which contains transplanted turfs from higher/lower on the mountain as well as both transplanted and untouched control plots. Comparisons between controls on the elevational gradient show that diameter is least affected by changes in elevation, whereas height of the highest flower changes significantly. Additionally, floral traits measured in transplants are more similar to those of their original site than those in their destination site. This indicates a lesser degree of phenotypic plasticity and more genetic determinacy in the floral traits measured, which could pose serious concerns to the reproductive fitness of these communities in the future as climate change rapidly alters alpine environments.
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