Growth and morphological responses of Fargesia angustissima to altitude in the Wolong Nature Reserve, southwestern China

The strong altitudinal gradients leading to dramatic variations in environmental conditions in mountain regions provide unique and sometimes the best opportunities to study plant responses and adaptation to global climate change. We investigated the morphological characteristics, aboveground biomass and its allocation of Fargesia angustissima (Mitford) T.P. Yi along an altitudinal gradient ranging from 1200 m (the lowest distribution boundary of F. angustissima) to 1810 m a.s.l. (the uppermost distribution limit) in the Wolong Nature Reserve, southwestern China. Except for a nearly linear increase in internode number and a linear decrease in shoot biomass with increasing elevation, other parameters studied changed non-linearly with increasing elevation. These results may imply that the local-environmental conditions do not change linearly with altitude. The growth of F. angustissima, as a low-altitude species, may be impacted by precipitation rather than by temperature. Hence, this dwarf bamboo species may be more sensitive to change in the amount and pattern of precipitation caused by rapid global climate change.