Abstract: Treeline is a special ecotone between the upper forest limit and tree species line. It is an ideal ecological indicator for climate change as it is sensitive to climate change. The position of half of global treelines is upward, with the rest maintaining relatively stable under the background of global warming. The treeline is strongly affected by seed production, dispersal and seedling establishment. Most studies have analyzed the mechanism of treeline structure from the aspects of temperature, precipitation, illumination, and disturbance, and found that low temperature limits treeline dynamics. However, single factor is hard to explain the global treeline variation. Most studies focused on the effects of abiotic factors on the distribution of treeline and little attention has been paid to the effects of seed dispersers on seedling establishment in treeline ecotones, especially on the treeline dynamics. Future studies should focus on the distribution of seedlings and saplings in treeline under global warming, such as the effects of seed caching behavior of animals in treeline community on the seedling regeneration of treeline, so as to provide scientific basis for exploring the biotic responses to climate warming from the perspective of interactions between seed dispersers and treeline dynamics.

Key words: Sepia pharaonis, ecological factors, oxygen consumption rate, embryo