Abstract: Taking the guerrilla type clonal plant Kingdonia uniflora at different altitudes in Taibai Mountain National Forest Park of Shaanxi Province, China as test material, the C, N, P, K and Mg contents in different vegetative organs of its ramet were measured. The results showed that ramet age, altitude, and their interaction had no significant effects on the total C content in ramet leaf, rhizome, and root (P>0.05), but different effects on the total N, total P, K and Mg contents in these vegetative organs, suggesting that ramet could regulate the allocation of nutritive elements in its vegetative organs through physiological metabolism. At high altitude (3 000-3 100 m), ramet age had significant effects on the K content in all vegetative organs and the N content in rhizome and root (P<0.05). All the test nutrient contents were significantly correlated with each other at all altitudes, except at middle altitude (2 800-2 900 m) where the ramet K content had no significant correlations with its N, P, and Mg contents. It was suggested that physiological plasticity contributed more to the performances of clonal plants at high altitude than at low altitude. Powerful physiological plasticity could help K. uniflora to effectively utilize heterogeneous resources, realize population expansion, and open up new habitat at high altitude. It was likely that the physiological plasticity of K. uniflora responding to heterogeneous habitats was formed in its long-term evolvement.

Key words: phosphorus, distribution characteristics, correlation, summer and winter, Nansi Lake.