This study examined the morphological variation in Senecio subalpinus W.D.J. Koch. (Asteraceae) along a 950-m elevation gradient in the Tatra Mountains, Central Europe, with emphasis on floral allocation patterns. Fifteen morphological traits were measured in 200 plants collected in the field from 20 sites then the findings were modelled by elevation using linear mixed-effects models. Plant aboveground biomass and height decreased steadily with increasing elevation; however, the most distinctive feature was the elevational shift in floral allocation patterns. Low-elevation plants had greater numbers of smaller flower heads with a lower overall number of flowers, while high-elevation plants had smaller numbers of bigger flower heads and a greater overall number of flowers. Accordingly, the mean individual flower mass increased significantly with increasing elevation. Interestingly, the width of the outer ligulate flowers also increased considerably with increasing elevation, increasing the fill of the overall circumference of the flower head. Results of this study confirmed that elevation is an important ecological gradient driving variation in vegetative and floral traits of S. subalpinus. Possible causes of the observed variations are subsequently discussed, including the varying effects of both abiotic and biotic factors with elevation gradients.

这项研究检查了千里光亚阿尔卑斯山脉的形态变化WDJ科赫。（菊科）沿中欧塔特拉山海拔950米的坡度，重点是花卉分配模式。在田间从20个地点收集的200株植物中测量了15种形态特征，然后使用线性混合效应模型通过海拔高度对发现进行建模。地上植物的生物量和高度随着海拔的升高而稳步下降。然而，最显着的特征是花卉分配模式的高度变化。低海拔植物的花头较小，花的总数较少，而高海拔植物的花头较大，花的总数较少，花的总数较小。因此，平均个体花质量随高度的增加而显着增加。有趣的是，随着高度的增加，外部舌状花的宽度也显着增加，从而增加了花头整个周长的填充。这项研究的结果证实，海拔高度是一个重要的生态梯度，驱动着植物营养和花卉性状的变化。高山针叶草。随后讨论了观察到的变化的可能原因，包括非生物和生物因子随海拔梯度变化的影响。