Alpine plants distribute mainly in regions between tree lines and snow lines and are regarded as some of the most sensitive plants to environmental changes. It is theoretically significant for understanding the responses and adaptations of plants to global climatic changes through investigating the morphological characteristics and anatomical differences as well as adaptive mechanisms in alpine plants. However, these researchs are still rudimentary on functional ecology of alpine plants in China, and most of them have been mainly focused on the plants growing in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
This article reviews the researchs on functional ecology of alpine plants distributing in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, including the morphology and anatomy of the plants and their adaptations to environments, on the basis of relevant studies overseas. The plants respond to the alpine environments (1) by producing dwarf growth forms, smaller and thicker leaves, well-developed aerenchyma in roots, stems and leaves, two layers of palisade cells or more than in the leaves, anthophilous characteristics in flowers, as well as abundant mitochondria in cells, (2) by increasing thicknesses of cell walls of collenchyma or scherenchyma cells in the stems, and (3) by reducing numbers of grana, particularly of granum thylakoids in chloroplasts. All of the characteristics of the plants described above result from long-term stresses of extremely ecological conditions, such as high irradiance, cold temperature, low air pressure in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and adaptations of the plants to the alpine environments.
In addition, some problems in the field are summarized, and propositions are proposed for further studies. This review aims to arouse people′s concern to the researchs on functional ecology of alpine plants and to promote their developments in China.