Contrasting belowground bud banks and their driving factors between alpine and temperate grasslands in China

Despite playing a fundamental role in plant population dynamics, the considerable variability and control of belowground bud banks in grasslands currently remain unknown globally. Here, we explored the size and driver of belowground bud bank both in alpine (Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: QTP) and temperate (Inner Mongolia Plateau: IMP) grasslands across China, using a dataset comprising 209 observations at 171 sites compiled from laboratory and published data. We found that temperate grassland had higher density (912 no./m2) dominated by tiller buds (72.26 %) than alpine grasslands (768 no./m2) dominated by rhizome buds (51.56 %). Moreover, belowground bud of alpine grassland exhibited longitudinal, latitudinal and altitudinal patterns, more diverse than those of longitudinal and latitudinal pattern in temperate grassland. Furthermore, climate, particularly the precipitation, is the factor controlling belowground bud in alpine grassland, while soil nutrient predominantly controls those in temperate grassland. Our study advances understanding of the variability and its climate and soil regulation on belowground buds in grasslands, sheds new light on differing management respectively for alpine and temperate grasslands in the context of climate change.