Functional and phylogenetic signatures of alpine specialization in Poaceae of the Western Taurus Mountains (Antalya, Türkiye)
Alpine Botany, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s00035-026-00377-z
- Dergi Adı: Alpine Botany
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Geobase, Natural Science Collection (ProQuest), Biological Science Database (ProQuest)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Elevational distribution, Endemism, High mountain, Morphological traits, Pooideae
- Akdeniz Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Alpine floras include species with different degrees of dependence on high-elevation environments, but the functional and phylogenetic basis of alpine specialization remains poorly explored in Mediterranean mountain systems. Here, we examined Poaceae species occurring above the treeline in the Western Taurus Mountains, a major high-mountain system of the eastern Mediterranean region. We classified 96 species from 32 genera and eight tribes into four elevational distribution categories following Körner’s framework, treating species restricted to the alpine belt as alpine specialists. We compiled eleven nominal morphological traits and plant height, tested trait associations with alpine specialization using Fisher’s exact tests with false discovery rate correction and assessed phylogenetic structure using Fritz and Purvis’ D and phylogenetic logistic regression. Alpine specialists comprised 21 species, nearly half of which were endemic, indicating a strong concentration of narrow-ranged taxa in the alpine belt. These species were significantly shorter than non-specialists and showed higher frequencies of a densely caespitose growth form, infolded leaf blades, dense head-like panicles and anemochory, whereas a therophyte life form, loosely branched growth and flat leaf blades were less frequent. Alpine specialization showed significant non-random phylogenetic clustering, but no strong phylogenetic conservatism. Phylogenetic logistic models identified dense head-like panicles and infolded leaf blades as the most consistent predictors of alpine specialization, with additional support for densely caespitose growth and anemochory in some models.