3.3 First flower, last flower and flower duration
Warming significantly advanced first flower dates for six of the eight species by 3.8 to 7.3 days, while warming significantly delayed it by 3.9 days for Heteropappus altaicus (Table 1 and Figs. 3 and S2). Warming significantly delayed last flower date for Poa crymophila , Koeleria cristata , Artemisia scoparia andHeteropappus altaicus by 3.0, 3.7, 4.8 and 6.3 days, respectively, while it was significantly advanced for Gentiana squarrosa by 7.7 days. Warming significantly lengthened flower duration for five of the eight species by 5.0 to 8.8 days, while it did not significantly affect flower duration for Artemisia scoparia ,Heteropappus altaicus , and Gentiana squarrosa (Fig. 3).
The RDA analysis showed that soil temperature and soil moisture played more important roles than soil inorganic N in driving flower phenology. Soil temperature and soil moisture together explained 54, 64, and 62% of the variation in first flower, last flower, and flower duration, respectively (Fig. S4).