Aboveground community composition and soil moisture play determining roles in restoring ecosystem multifunctionality of alpine steppe on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 305 ◽  
pp. 107163
Author(s):  
Yudan Xu ◽  
Shikui Dong ◽  
Xiaoxia Gao ◽  
Mingyue Yang ◽  
Shuai Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Alpine Steppe ◽  
Ecosystem Multifunctionality

scholarly journals The critical factors that affected the distribution of aboveground biomass in the alpine steppe and meadow, Tibetan Plateau

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 14559-14588
Author(s):  
J. Sun ◽  
G. W. Cheng ◽  
W. P. Li
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Alpine Grassland ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Alpine Steppe ◽  
Habitat Factors

Abstract. Tibetan Plateau – the third pole of the world, with its extremly harsh and fragile ecological environment, is so sensitive to global change that it attracts many scientists' attention. Alpine grassland here is an important component of the global carbon cycle. Many studies have examined links between environmental factors and distribution of biomass, but little showed the critical environmental factors affecting the distribution of biomass. To document the general relationships between the habitat factors and aboveground biomass (AGB) in Tibetan Plateau, and to identify the critical factors for the distribution of AGB in the alpine steppe and meadow, the data of AGB and habitat factors from 110 field sites across the widely distributed alpine steppe and meadow of the plateau were compiled and analyzed with the classification and regression tree (CART) model, and the generalized additive model (GAM). The results showed that (1) the spatial pattern of AGB in alpine steppe was determined by six major environmental factors: soil organic carbon density of soil 0–30 cm depth (SOC1), longitude, mean annual precipitation (MAP), latitude, clay and soil moisture. As to the alpine meadow, the major factors were altitude, soil moisture, nitrogen, MAP and mean annual temperature (MAT). (2) As to the alpine steppe, increased SOC1, MAP and latitude were associated with increased AGB abundance, but increased longitude resulted in lower abundance of AGB. As to the alpine meadow, the distribution of AGB had strong negative relationships with altitude and soil moisture, but a positive correlation with soil nitrogen content across sites. The results suggested that the combined effects of meteorological factors, topographic factors, and soil factors were more significant for the spatial pattern of AGB in Tibetan Plateau. In addition, our work highlights the importance of further studies to seek effects of slope and aspect in alpine grassland.

scholarly journals Plant diversity is closely related to the density of zokor mounds in three alpine rangelands on the Tibetan Plateau

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujie Niu ◽  
Jianwei Zhou ◽  
Siwei Yang ◽  
Bin Chu ◽  
Huimin Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Steppe ◽  
Alpine Shrub ◽  
Plateau Zokor

Background Plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) is a subterranean rodent endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. This species has been generally viewed as a pest in China due to the competition for food with livestock and also causing soil erosion. As a result, plateau zokor has been the target of widespread poisoning or trapping campaigns designed to control or eliminate it since 1970s. But there is little research on the effect of plateau zokor on plant diversity in alpine rangelands. Therefore, objectively evaluating the positive effects of the plateau zokors disturbance on their living environment and plant communities is of great significance to understand the function of plateau zokor in alpine ecosystem. Methods Here, we selected three rangelands (alpine meadow, alpine steppe and alpine shrub meadow) in which plateau zokors are typically distributed on the Tibetan Plateau, and five zokor mound density gradients were selected in each rangeland type to study the effects of the mounds on soil moisture and temperature related to plant species diversity. Results The results showed that, with the mound density increasing, the soil temperature decreased significantly in all three rangeland types, and the soil moisture significantly increased in all three rangeland types. In the alpine meadow, both the plant diversity and cumulative species richness increased significantly with increasing mound density. The increase in broad-leaved forbs is the main reason for the increase of plant diversity in the alpine meadow disturbed by zokor mounds. In the alpine steppe, the plant diversity decreased significantly with increasing mound density, while the cumulative species richness initially decreased and then increased. In the alpine shrub meadow, the plant diversity first increased and then decreased with increasing mound density as did the cumulative species richness. In conclusion, plateau zokor mounds dominated the distribution of soil moisture and temperature and significantly affected plant diversity in these three rangelands on Tibetan Plateau; the results further deepen our understanding toward a co-evolved process.

scholarly journals Meta-analysis of relationships between environmental factors and aboveground biomass in the alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1707-1715 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Sun ◽  
G. W. Cheng ◽  
W. P. Li
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Alpine Meadow ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Alpine Grassland ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Steppe

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau, known as the "world's third pole" for its extremely harsh and fragile ecological environment, has attracted great attention because of its sensitivity to global changes. Alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau has an important function in the global carbon cycle. Many studies have examined the effects of various environmental factors on biomass distribution. In this study, the relationships between the habitat parameters and the aboveground biomass (AGB) abundance on the Tibetan Plateau were examined through a meta-analysis of 110 field sites across the widely distributed alpine steppe and meadow. The obtained data were then analysed using the classification and regression tree model and the generalized additive model. The results showed that the AGB abundance in alpine steppe was positively correlated with six environmental factors, namely, soil organic carbon density of the top soil layer from 0 cm to 30 cm (SOC30 cm), longitude, mean annual precipitation (MAP), latitude, clay, and soil moisture. For the alpine meadow, five main factors were detected, namely, altitude, soil moisture, nitrogen, MAP, and mean annual temperature. The increased AGB abundance in the alpine steppe was associated with the increased SOC30 cm, MAP, and latitude, and the increased longitude resulted in decreased AGB abundance. For the alpine meadow, altitude and soil moisture showed strongly negative effects on AGB abundance, and soil nitrogen content was positively related to the AGB distribution across all examined sites. Our results suggest the combined effects of meteorological, topographic, and soil factors on the spatial patterns of AGB on the Tibetan Plateau.

Above-and below-ground trait linkages of dominant species shape responses of alpine steppe composition to precipitation changes in the Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Zheng ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Shihu Zhang ◽  
Qun Ma ◽  
Dajie Gong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Plant Community Composition ◽  
Alpine Steppe ◽  
Precipitation Regimes ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Precipitation Changes

Abstract Aims Human activities and global changes have led to alterations in global and regional precipitation regimes. Despite extensive studies on the effects of changes in precipitation regimes on plant community composition across different types of grassland world-wide, few studies have specifically focused on the effects of precipitation changes on high-altitude alpine steppe at community and plant species levels in the Tibetan Plateau. Methods We investigated the effects of growing-season precipitation changes (reduced precipitation by 50%; ambient precipitation; enhanced precipitation by 50%) for 6 years on plant community composition in an alpine steppe of Tibetan Plateau by linking above-ground to below-ground traits of dominant species. Important Findings We found that reduced precipitation shifted community composition from dominance by bunchgrass (primarily Stipa purpurea) to dominance by rhizomatous grass (primarily Leymus secalinus). Roots and leaf traits of L. secalinus and S. purpurea differed in their responses to reduced precipitation. Reduced precipitation enhanced root vertical length and carbon (C) allocation to deep soil layers, and decreased the leaf width in L. secalinus, but it did not change the traits in S. purpurea. Moreover, reduced precipitation significantly enhanced rhizome biomass, length, diameter and adventitious root at the rhizome nodes in L. secalinus. These changes in traits may render rhizomatous grass greater competitive during drought stress. Therefore, our findings highlight important roles of above-ground and below-ground traits of dominant species in plant community composition of alpine steppe under precipitation change.

scholarly journals Plants and Microbes Mediate the Shift in Ecosystem Multifunctionality From Low to High Patterns Across Alpine Grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Wang ◽  
Miao Liu ◽  
Youchao Chen ◽  
Tao Zeng ◽  
Xuyang Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Alpine Grassland ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Grassland Ecosystem ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ecosystem Multifunctionality ◽  
Alpine Grassland Ecosystem

Both plant communities and soil microbes have been reported to be correlated with ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the process and mechanism of aboveground and belowground communities on different EMF patterns are not clear. In order to explore different response patterns and mechanisms of EMF, we divided EMF into low (<0) and high patterns (>0). We found that there were contrasting patterns of low and high EMF in the alpine grassland ecosystem on the Tibetan Plateau. Specifically, compared with low EMF, environmental factors showed higher sensitivity to high EMF. Soil properties are critical factors that mediate the impact of community functions on low EMF based on the change of partial correlation coefficients from 0 to 0.24. In addition, plant community functions and microbial biomass may mediate the shift of EMF from low to high patterns through the driving role of climate across the alpine grassland ecosystem. Our findings will be vital to clarify the mechanism for the stability properties of grassland communities and ecosystems under ongoing and future climate change.

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