中国西南喀斯特地区由于长期的人为干扰正在遭受严重的植被退化和石漠化，问题的解决要依靠喀斯特植物适应性的生态学研究的支持。喀斯特生境土壤瘠薄，持水力差，土壤临时性干旱与营养的耗尽频繁发生，水分、营养的时间异质性成为限制植物存活与生长的关键性环境因素。同时，密度可能对植物响应于水分、营养的可塑性有决定性影响。但关于喀斯特生境植物在不同密度下响应于土壤水分，营养异质性的研究还很欠缺，更没有关于早期水分，营养的时间异质性经历对植物后期可塑响应的影响的研究。本项目以喀斯特生境9种优势植物为研究对象，通过研究其多方面特征对土壤水分，营养和密度的交互作用的响应及不同密度下早期水分、营养的时间异质性经历对植物响应于后期水分、营养的可塑性的影响，揭示喀斯特生境植物应对关键性环境因子异质性的生长与适应策略。研究不仅可以增进对表型可塑性的理解，还可为喀斯特地区植被恢复和石漠化治理提供理论依据。

The karst regions in southwest China have been suffering severe vegetation degradation and rocky-desertification under long-term human disturbances. Ecological research is desperately needed on the adaptability of karst plants to solve these problems. In karst habitats，soil conditions are barren, with low water-retention, transient drought and depletion of nutrients frequently occur, and the temporal heterogeneity of soil water and nutrient availability became key environmental factors that limit karst plants survival and growth. Meanwhile, density probably plays a determinant role in plant response to soil water and nutrient conditions. However, research is lack on how plants respond to the heterogeneity of soil water and nutrients under different densities in karst habitats, even less on the influences of early time-scale heterogeneous experiences on their later plastic responses. The program adopted 9 dominant plant species of karst habitats as target species, through investigating the interactive effects of soil water, nutrient and density on multiple traits of plants, and influences of early experience with time-heterogeneity of water and nutrient availability under different densities, to reveal the growth and adaptation strategies of plants in dealing with the heterogeneity of key environmental factors in karst habitats. The research not only can better the understanding on phenotypic plasticity, but also may provide theoretical basis for degraded vegetation restoration and rocky desertification control in karst regions.