Characteristics of the sites and the Quercus aquifolioides shrub stands studied on a SE-facing slope of Mt. Zeduo, Sichuan, SW China.

*Mean air temperatures at 3500 and 3950 m a.s.l. were calculated using temperature lapse rates derived from data measured at 3000 m (data collected from 2005 to 2009) and 2616 m a.s.l. (data for 1975–2009), for annual, July, and January temperature, respectively.**Mean growing season length (days with a mean temperature of ≥5°C) at 3500 and 3950 m a.s.l. was derived from measured data at 2616 and 3000 m a.s.l.