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Anatomical variation of five plant species along an elevation gradient in Mexico City basin within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico

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Abstract

Change in environmental conditions with altitudinal gradients induces morpho-anatomical variations in plants that have been poorly documented in intertropical regions. Five species with three life forms, cryptophyte (Alchemilla procumbens, Geranium seemannii), hemicryptophyte (Acaena elongata, Lupinus montanus), and phanerophyte (Symphoricarpos microphyllus), distributed along an altitudinal gradient in the Sierra Nevada of central Mexico, were studied. The aims were to identify and evaluate their morpho-anatomical modifications under the hypothesis that the sizes of individuals and of their wood and leaf cell types decrease as elevation increases. Three individuals per species per site were collected at seven locations along the altitudinal gradient (2949-3952 m). Their morpho-anatomical characters were analyzed through multiple regression analyses. Elevation was the variable that best explained anatomical changes in the leaf and wood of the five species. Canopy density and potassium content in the soil also contributed to explain the variation in anatomical variables along the gradient. As elevation increased a bimodal pattern was observed in various anatomical characters as in the leaf width of A. elongata, A. procumbens and G. seemannii and in the vessel diameter of A. procumbens, G. seemannii, and L. montanus. Other features as the vessel diameter of A. elongata, the fiber length of S. microphyllus, and the ray width of A. elongata increased as the elevation increased. Anatomical traits have a tendency to decrease in size but just toward the end of the gradient, which is probably related to changes in canopy density. The plant response to the altitudinal gradient is more focused on anatomical adaptations than morphological variation; it is also species dependent.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) for the PhD scholarship to MSJN (265120). The facilities and support of the Instituto de Biología, UNAM, are appreciated. We also thank the people of Tequesquinahuac and other Ejidos for being able to work in their forests. The art work by Diana Martínez and Julio César Montero-Rojas is also highly appreciated. The comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms of Dr. Anna V. Kopanina and anonymous reviewers are highly appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Postgraduate College at Campus Montecillo, Montecillo, 56230, State of Mexico, Mexico

    P. Mayte S. Jiménez-Noriega, Lauro López-Mata & Heike Vibrans

  2. Institute of Biology, Autonomous National University of Mexico, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    Teresa Terrazas

  3. Center of Biological Research, Autonomous University of State of Hidalgo, Mineral de la Reforma, 42184, Hidalgo, Mexico

    Arturo Sánchez-González

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  1. P. Mayte S. Jiménez-Noriega
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  2. Teresa Terrazas
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  3. Lauro López-Mata
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  4. Arturo Sánchez-González
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  5. Heike Vibrans
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Correspondence to Lauro López-Mata.

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Anatomical variation of five plant species along an elevation gradient in Mexico City basin within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico

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Jiménez-Noriega, P.M.S., Terrazas, T., López-Mata, L. et al. Anatomical variation of five plant species along an elevation gradient in Mexico City basin within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mexico. J. Mt. Sci. 14, 2182–2199 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4442-8

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