Leaf traits of two alpine grassland species diverge under different land uses

Leaf functional traits in two common alpine grassland species respond in distinctly different ways to land-use history, according to a study of sites in Guinan County, Qinghai Province, China. The study investigated leaf functional traits in Elymus nutans Griseb. and Medicago archiducis-nicolai Širj. across four sites with contrasting land-use histories in Guinan County, Qinghai Province, China: grazing, enclosure, restoration of farmland to forest, and restoration of farmland to grassland. The work, published in BMC Ecology and Evolution as an open-access article, was designed to reveal adaptive variation and resource acquisition strategies of grassland plants in alpine ecosystems.

The team measured 13 structural and chemical leaf traits together with 11 soil properties at the study sites. To analyse the data, they used linear mixed-effects models to evaluate differences in leaf traits among species and land-use histories, Spearman correlation analysis to examine relationships among leaf traits and soil variables, principal component analysis to identify the major factors behind leaf trait variation, and redundancy analysis to explore associations between leaf traits and soil properties.

The results showed significant variation in leaf functional traits both among species and among land-use histories. In E. nutans, the traits exhibiting relatively high variation were leaf density, leaf thickness, leaf dry matter content, leaf area and leaf phosphorus content. In M. archiducis-nicolai, by contrast, the traits showing greater variation were leaf area, leaf length and leaf thickness.

Correlation analysis revealed strong associations among the structural traits, the chemical traits and soil-related variables. The authors conclude that the two species exhibit contrasting, species-specific patterns of leaf trait variation and associations with soil properties across the contrasting land-use histories, contributing to a better understanding of plant functional ecology in alpine grasslands.

Subject of Research: Leaf functional trait variation and soil associations in two alpine grassland species across contrasting land-use histories

Article Title: Contrasting patterns of leaf trait variation and soil associations in two alpine grassland species across land-use histories

Article References: Wang, Y., Li, N., Wei, L., Guo, T., Zhang, Q., Wang, X., Xu, X., Xu, T., Luo, C., Zhao, N., Liu, H., & Xu, S. (2026). Contrasting patterns of leaf trait variation and soil associations in two alpine grassland species across land-use histories. BMC Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-026-02598-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12862-026-02598-6

Keywords: alpine grassland, leaf functional traits, land-use history, soil properties, Elymus nutans, Medicago archiducis-nicolai, Qinghai, redundancy analysis, plant ecology, grazing, farmland restoration, Contrasting