Experimental warming alleviates leaf-level physiological stress of Kobresia pygmaea in alpine meadows on the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

BMC Plant Biology

卷:26

Research

Lei Zheng¹  Xiaodong Wu²  Genghao Ji³  Guimin Liu³ 

[1] Wuhu Vocational Technical University, 241003, Wuhu, China

[2] School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, 730000, Lanzhou, China

[3] Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Cryosphere Research Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 730000, Lanzhou, China

关键词: Alpine meadow;    Kobresia pygmaea;    Open-top chamber;    Chlorophyll;    Oxidative stress;    Tibetan Plateau;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-026-09905-9

 received in 2026-06-23, accepted in 2026-09-01,  发布年份 2026

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundClimate warming can strongly influence alpine plant physiology, but the leaf-level responses of dominant alpine meadow species to warming may vary across elevation and growing-season stages. These spatial and seasonal patterns remain insufficiently known.ResultsWe examined the physiological responses of Kobresia pygmaea on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to long-term passive open-top chamber (OTC) warming across four elevations (3691, 3786, 3981, and 4131 m a.s.l.) from July to September. Across all sites and months, OTC warming increased mean near-surface air temperature by 1.34 °C and surface soil temperature by 1.32 °C, while reducing relative humidity by 5.16% and surface soil moisture by 5.17%. Warming reduced leaf malondialdehyde by 20.2% and proline by 45.3%, suggesting lower membrane lipid peroxidation and reduced osmotic adjustment. Superoxide dismutase activity increased slightly by 2.4%, whereas peroxidase activity increased by 26.3%, indicating enzyme-specific antioxidant regulation. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll increased by 72.0%, 66.2%, and 70.2%, respectively. Three-way ANOVA showed significant effects of warming, month, elevation, and their interactions on most physiological indicators.ConclusionModerate OTC warming improved the leaf-level physiological status and photosynthetic pigment capacity of K. pygmaea during the growing season. These benefits were season- and elevation-dependent and occurred under a concurrent drying microclimate. The results provided evidence of a leaf-level physiological response to warming by the dominant species in alpine meadows.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC-ND   
© The Author(s) 2026

【 图 表 】

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