{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T04:24:17Z","timestamp":1786940657202,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"CSIRO Publishing","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786924800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1071\/journalslicense"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Focusing on the highly heterogeneous habitat of the Jingpo Lake lava plateau, this study quantified 24 above- and below-ground functional traits across 12 dominant species. Transcending the conventional single-organ perspective, we investigated whether environmental stress drives the divergence of adaptive strategies by amplifying trait variation among distinct life forms. Woody plants exhibited substantially higher phenotypic plasticity than herbaceous species, with the average coefficient of variation for absorptive roots reaching 32.74% \u2013 approximately twice that of herbs. Reflecting a \u2018structural reinforcement\u2019 strategy, the main vein thickness (MV) and root stele diameter (RSD) of woody plants were 1.79 and 2.22 times greater than those of herbs (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u00a00.05), respectively. Core above- and below-ground anatomical traits in woody plants were highly positively correlated (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u00a00.01), indicating strong \u2018functional integration.\u2019 Conversely, herbaceous plants lacked significant cross-organ structural correlations (P\u00a0&amp;gt;\u00a00.05) and displayed clear \u2018trait decoupling,\u2019 relying primarily on \u2018phenological escape\u2019 and significantly elevated mycorrhizal colonization rates (MIs) for resource acquisition. Principal component analysis demonstrated that the first axis captured 48.7% of the total variation, driven predominantly by below-ground traits such as root diameter, with significant differences observed between life forms (P\u00a0&amp;lt;\u00a00.05). This underscores that below-ground traits explain the strategic divergence of plant functional groups in lava plateau habitats more effectively than above-ground traits. Ultimately, our results validate the hypotheses that extreme habitats amplify resource trade-offs between woody and herbaceous plants, and that below-ground traits act as robust indicators of strategy divergence, offering essential scientific insights into plant survival and adaptation mechanisms in fragile ecosystems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1071\/fp25404","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]],"date-time":"2026-08-17T03:27:03Z","timestamp":1786937223000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Differentiation of plant adaptive strategies on the Jingpo Lake lava plateau: a comparison of leaf and absorptive root functional trait spectra across different life forms"],"prefix":"10.1071","volume":"53","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0780-2375","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Liying","family":"Xu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ASchool of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-7255-1525","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Zixing","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASchool of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2302-4613","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xinmei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASchool of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-5124-5476","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Dounan","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6496-1961","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xiang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASchool of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-7845-6624","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Meihan","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASchool of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-0811-1498","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ke","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASchool of Life Science and Technology, Mudanjiang Normal University, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang 157011, China."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"67","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026081623265874400_R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpls.2021.785589","article-title":"Evidence of differences in covariation among root traits across plant growth forms, mycorrhizal types, and biomes.","volume":"12","author":"An","year":"2022","journal-title":"Frontiers in Plant Science"},{"issue":"26","key":"2026081623265874400_R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2404034121","article-title":"Community assembly influences plant trait economic spectra and functional trade-offs at ecosystem scales.","volume":"121","author":"Anderegg","year":"2024","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA"},{"issue":"27","key":"2026081623265874400_R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.aba3756","article-title":"The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants.","volume":"6","author":"Bergmann","year":"2020","journal-title":"Science Advances"},{"key":"2026081623265874400_R4","unstructured":"Cai JT (2024) Effects of long-term grazing on aboveground\/belowground functional traits and economic spectra of plants in northern grasslands. 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