Impact of Grazing Intensity on Plant Functional Groups richness, Biomass and Diversity in Hulunbuir Meadow Steppe, China

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1101/2021.05.24.445414 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

YOUSIF ZAINELABDEEN

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Functional Group ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Livestock Grazing ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Tall Grass ◽

Plant Functional Group

Livestock grazing is one of the major human activities that cause a change in plant community structure and composition. We studied the effect of different grazing intensities (light, moderate, heavy, and no grazing) on aboveground biomass, species richness, and plant functional group (PFG) diversity. The light, moderate, heavy, and no grazing treatments correspond to 0.23, 0.46, 0.92, and 0.00 Animal Units ha-1 respectively. A total of 78 species classified into eight PFGs (perennial tall grass, perennial short grass, shrubs, legumes, Liliaceae herb, annual/biennial plant, perennial tall forbs and perennial short forbs) were identified. We found that the total species richness increased under light and moderate grazing intensity. However, the responses of each PFG to grazing differed. As grazing intensity increased, so did the richness of short species (perennial short grass, perennial short grass and legume) in the community. The richness of shrub is unaffected by grazing. With increasing grazing intensity, the aboveground biomass of perennial tall grass and perennial tall forbs decreased significantly, while that of annual/biennial plant functional groups increased. The community diversity and evenness of annual/biennial plants increased significantly with grazing intensity. We concluded that heavy grazing has negative impacts on plant functional group richness and aboveground biomass.

Download Full-text

The Impact of Grazing on the Grass Composition in Temperate Grassland

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10091230 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1230

Author(s):

Yousif Mohamed Zainelabdeen ◽

Ruirui Yan ◽

Xiaoping Xin ◽

Yuchun Yan ◽

Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Grazing Intensity ◽

Soil Nutrient ◽

Soil Bulk Density ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Management Scenarios ◽

Tall Grass ◽

Four Levels ◽

Different Response ◽

The Impact

Grazing is one of the predominant human activities taking place today inside protected areas, with both direct and indirect effects on the vegetation community. We analyzed the effects of grazing intensity on grass composition during four grazing seasons containing 78 plant species belonging to eight plant functional groups, which include perennial tall grass (6 species), perennial short grass (6 species), shrubs (3 species), legumes (9 species), Liliaceae herb (8 species), annual/biennial plants (11 species), perennial short forbs (16 species) and perennial tall forbs (18 species). We estimated grazing intensity at four levels, control, light, moderate and heavy grazing intensity corresponding to 0.00, 0.23, 0.46 and 0.92 animal units ha−1, respectively. We found that each plant functional group showed a different response to grazing intensity. Perennial tall grasses that were dominated by high palatable mesophyte and mesoxerophyte grass showed a significant decrease with grazing intensity, while the medium palatable xerophyte and widespread grasses that were the predominant short perennial increases with grazing intensity. The perennial tall forbs that were dominated by the mesophyte grass also decreased, but the decrease was statistically insignificant. The influence of grazing density on species is also related to soil factors (soil nutrient, soil moisture and soil temperature and soil bulk density). Some functional groups such as tall fescue and Liliaceae herbs, remained stable—which may be related to the changes in the soil environment caused by grazing activities. The findings of this study could provide a standpoint for assessing the current grazing management scenarios and conducting timely adaptive practices to maintain the long-term ability of grassland systems to perform their ecological functions.

Download Full-text

Responses of Alpine Grassland Plant Functional Groups To Environmental Changes In The Altunshan At North Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1007187/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ailin Zhang ◽

Shixin Wu ◽

Fanjiang Zeng ◽

Yong Jiang ◽

Ruzhen Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Community Diversity ◽

Alpine Grassland ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Individual Plant ◽

Hydrothermal Conditions ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Abstract Purpose: In grassland ecosystems, plant functional group (PFG) is an important bridge connecting individual plant to community system. Grassland ecosystem is the main ecosystem type on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so the change of community structure of grassland vegetation.Methods: The Altun Mountains in the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were used as the study area to investigate the PFGs of a high-altitude (> 3700m) grassland in desert areas and their response to temperature and moisture.Results: The main functional groups were forbs and grasses, and the importance values (IV) accounted for more than 50%. Plant species diversity of the community was influenced by the functional groups of legumes IV, and the increase of legumes would promote the increase of plant community diversity. The C, N, P of plant communities were mainly influenced by forbs and grasses, and the relationship between forbs and C, N, P was opposite to that of grasses. There was a positive correlation between forbs and soil TP; a negative correlation between grasses and soil TP; a positive correlation between legumes with soil SOC and TN; and a positive correlation between sedge and soil SOC. However, under the influence of different hydrothermal conditions, forbs and grasses as dominant functional groups had stronger correlation with community and soil nutrients. Conclusions: This indicated that the PFGs with the largest proportion in the community had the greatest influence on the community. This provides a basis for the study of alpine grassland community development and ecosystem function under alpine grassland.

Download Full-text

Biological soil crust communities 12–16 years after wildfires in Idaho, USA

10.5194/bg-2017-178 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Heather T. Root ◽

John C. Brinda ◽

E. Kyle Dodson

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Fire Severity ◽

Biological Soil Crust ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Arid Ecosystems ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Ecosystem Functions ◽

Soil Crust

Abstract. Changing fire regimes in western North America may impact biological soil crust (BSC) communities that influence many ecosystem functions, such as soil stability and C and N cycling. However, longer-term effects of wildfire on BSC abundance, species richness, functional groups, and ecosystem functions after wildfire (i.e. BSC resilience) is still poorly understood. We sampled BSC lichen and bryophyte communities at four sites in Idaho, USA, within foothill steppe communities that included wildfires from 12 to 16 years old. We established six plots outside each burn perimeter and compared them with six plots of varying severity within each fire perimeter at each site. BSC cover was most strongly negatively impacted by wildfire at sites that had well-developed BSC communities in adjacent unburned plots. BSC species richness was estimated to be 65 % greater in unburned plots compared with burned plots. In contrast, there was no evidence that vascular plant functional groups or fire severity (as measured by satellite metrics dNBR or RdNBR) significantly affected longer-term BSC responses. Three BSC functional groups (squamulose lichens, vagrant lichens, and tall turf mosses) exhibited a significant decrease in abundance in burned areas relative to adjacent unburned areas. The decreases in BSC cover and richness along with decreased abundance of several functional groups suggest that wildfire can negatively impact ecosystem function in these semi-arid ecosystems for at least one to two decades. This is a concern given that increased fire frequency is predicted for the region due to exotic grass invasion and climate change.

Download Full-text

Root trait responses to drought depend on plant functional group

10.1101/801951 ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Y.M. Lozano ◽

C.A. Aguilar-Trigueros ◽

I.C. Flaig ◽

M.C. Rillig

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Morphological Traits ◽

Functional Group ◽

Carbon Allocation ◽

Root Traits ◽

Root Trait ◽

Plant Responses ◽

Plant Functional Group ◽

Tissue Density ◽

Root Carbon

ABSTRACTDrought can strongly modify plant diversity and ecosystem processes. As droughts are expected to intensify in the future, it is important to better understand plant responses to drought. We expect that roots traits constitute an overlooked but powerful predictor of plant responses as roots are in direct contact with the soil environment, taking up nutrients and water.Here, we determine which root traits are sensitive to drought, the magnitude of that response, whether their predictive power and relationships with shoot biomass are affected by drought and whether all these responses depend on plant functional group. To do so, we conducted a glasshouse experiment with 24 plant species grown in pots (10 replicates per species), which represent three different functional groups: grasses, herbs and legumes. All replicates were well watered during the first month and then half of the replicates were kept under drought (30 % water holding capacity (WHC)) with the other half serving as control (kept at 70% WHC). After two months of the treatment, leaf and root traits were measured.Leaf traits had a strong but more uniform response to drought compared to root traits. Root trait response was variable and differed by plant functional group. Most grasses had increased root diameter, specific root surface area (SRSA) while decreased root tissue density (RTD) with drought. Production of thicker roots with a low tissue density could allow grasses to achieve greater nutrient and water acquisition through mycotrophy and would be linked to an increase in the reserve of non-structural carbohydrates needed for osmoregulation. Herbs had decreased SRSA and specific root length (SRL) while increase root carbon allocation. Reduction of root elongation or sacrifice of fine roots would be compensated by an increase in root carbon allocation, which allow herbs to improve water uptake. Legumes did not alter root morphological traits but promote an early flowering in order to scape drought.Our results identify changes in root morphological traits as mechanisms to likely face drought, a response that is species-specific and differed among functional groups.

Download Full-text

Differential responses of soil bacteria, fungi, archaea and protists to plant species richness and plant functional group identity

Molecular Ecology ◽

10.1111/mec.14175 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (15) ◽

pp. 4085-4098 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Sigrid Dassen ◽

Roeland Cortois ◽

Henk Martens ◽

Mattias de Hollander ◽

George A. Kowalchuk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Soil Bacteria ◽

Group Identity ◽

Functional Group ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Plant Functional Group ◽

Differential Responses

Download Full-text

Extending vegetation site data and ensemble models to predict patterns of foliage cover and species richness for plant functional groups

Landscape Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10980-021-01221-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 1391-1407

Author(s):

Megan J. McNellie ◽

Ian Oliver ◽

Simon Ferrier ◽

Graeme Newell ◽

Glenn Manion ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Landscape Scale ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Native Plant ◽

Environmental Predictors ◽

Neural Network Models ◽

Model Residuals

Abstract Context Ensembles of artificial neural network models can be trained to predict the continuous characteristics of vegetation such as the foliage cover and species richness of different plant functional groups. Objectives Our first objective was to synthesise existing site-based observations of native plant species to quantify summed percentage foliage cover and species richness within four functional groups and in totality. Secondly, we generated spatially-explicit, continuous, landscape-scale models of these functional groups, accompanied by maps of the model residuals to show uncertainty. Methods Using a case study from New South Wales, Australia, we aggregated floristic observations from 6806 sites into four common plant growth forms (trees, shrubs, grasses and forbs) representing four different functional groups. We coupled these response data with spatially-complete surfaces describing environmental predictors and predictors that reflect landscape-scale disturbance. We predicted the distribution of foliage cover and species richness of these four plant functional groups over 1.5 million hectares. Importantly, we display spatially explicit model residuals so that end-users have a tangible and transparent means of assessing model uncertainty. Results Models of richness generally performed well (R2 0.43–0.63), whereas models of cover were more variable (R2 0.12–0.69). RMSD ranged from 1.42 (tree richness) to 29.86 (total native cover). MAE ranged from 1.0 (tree richness) to 20.73 (total native foliage cover). Conclusions Continuous maps of vegetation attributes can add considerable value to existing maps and models of discrete vegetation classes and provide ecologically informative data to support better decisions across multiple spatial scales.

Download Full-text

Assessing Integrity Using Vegetation Structure and Composition

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1125611/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Megan J McNellie ◽

Josh Dorrough ◽

Ian Oliver ◽

Jian DL Yen ◽

Simon Ferrier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Native Species ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Spatially Explicit ◽

Natural Systems ◽

Scale Models ◽

Proportional Change ◽

Order Of Magnitude ◽

Native Species Richness

Abstract ContextThe draft post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework aims to achieve a 15% net gain in the area, connectivity and integrity of natural systems by 2050. ObjectivesFirst, we analyse the complexity (foliage cover) and composition (native species richness) of 6 plant functional groups relative to their empirically defined benchmark. Second, we extrapolate the spatial patterns in foliage cover and species richness to predict where different plant functional groups are above or below benchmark as spatially-explicit, continuous characteristics across the landscape.MethodsWe assess the integrity of vegetation relative to a numerical benchmark using the log of the response ratio (LRR) to reflect the proportional change in the response variable. We use ensembles of artificial neural networks to build spatially-explicit, continuous, landscape-scale models of cover and species richness to assess locations where functional groups meet or exceed benchmarks.ResultsModels of vegetation cover LRR performed well (R2 0.79 – 0.88), whereas models of the vegetation richness LRR were more variable (R2 0.57 – 0.80). Predicted patterns show that across the landscape (11.5 million ha), there is a larger area that meets or exceeds the cover benchmarks (approximately 112 000 ha or 1%), and an order of magnitude lower (approximately 10 000 ha or 0.1%) for richness benchmarks. ConclusionsSpatially explicit maps of vegetation integrity can provide important information to complement assessments of area and connectivity. Our results highlight that net gains in the area, connectivity and integrity of ecosystems will require significant investment in restoration.

Download Full-text

Litter-Induced Reduction in Ecosystem Multifunctionality Is Mediated by Plant Diversity and Cover in an Alpine Meadow

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.773804 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Zhouwen Ma ◽

Jing Wu ◽

Lan Li ◽

Qingping Zhou ◽

Fujiang Hou

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Functional Group ◽

Alpine Meadow ◽

Plant Cover ◽

Plant Litter ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Plant Functional Group ◽

Litter Mass ◽

Litter Manipulation ◽

Ecosystem Multifunctionality

Litter has been shown to alter the structure and functions of grassland ecosystems, and a knowledge of the effects of litter is essential for understanding the dynamics of ecosystem multifunctionality. However, relatively little is known about the effects of plant litter on ecosystem multifunctionality in alpine meadows. A three-year field experiment was conducted to explore how litter manipulation affects ecosystem multifunctionality. The plant litter treatments that were applied consisted of a range of litter mass levels and three dominant plant species, in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The results showed that litter mass manipulation had a negative effect on ecosystem multifunctionality and most individual ecosystem functions (species richness, plant cover, and above-ground biomass) but had a positive effect on plant functional group evenness. In particular, the study found that low or medium amounts of litter (≤200gm−2) were beneficial in maintaining a high level of ecosystem multifunctionality. Furthermore, a structural equation model revealed that ecosystem multifunctionality was driven by indirect effects of litter mass manipulation on plant functional group evenness, plant cover, and species richness. These results suggest that litter-induced effects may be a major factor in determining grassland ecosystem multifunctionality, and they indicate the potential importance of grassland management strategies that regulate the dynamics of litter accumulation.

Download Full-text

Can bryophyte groups increase functional resolution in tundra ecosystems?

Arctic Science ◽

10.1139/as-2020-0057 ◽

2021 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Signe Lett ◽

Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir ◽

Antoine Becker-Scarpitta ◽

Casper T. Christiansen ◽

Heinjo During ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Functional Groups ◽

Functional Group ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Intraspecific Variability ◽

Water Holding Capacity ◽

Plant Functional Groups ◽

Relative Contribution ◽

Grouping Systems ◽

Water Holding ◽

Tundra Ecosystems

The relative contribution of bryophytes to plant diversity, primary productivity, and ecosystem functioning increases towards colder climates. Bryophytes respond to environmental changes at the species level, but because bryophyte species are relatively difficult to identify, they are often lumped into one functional group. Consequently, bryophyte function remains poorly resolved. Here, we explore how higher resolution of bryophyte functional diversity can be encouraged and implemented in tundra ecological studies. We briefly review previous bryophyte functional classifications and the roles of bryophytes in tundra ecosystems and their susceptibility to environmental change. Based on shoot morphology and colony organization, we then propose twelve easily distinguishable bryophyte functional groups. To illustrate how bryophyte functional groups can help elucidate variation in bryophyte effects and responses, we compiled existing data on water holding capacity, a key bryophyte trait. Although plant functional groups, can mask potentially high inter- and intraspecific variability, we found better separation of bryophyte functional group means compared to previous grouping systems regarding water holding capacity. This suggests that our bryophyte functional groups truly represent variation in the functional roles of bryophytes in tundra ecosystems. Lastly, we provide recommendations to improve monitoring of bryophyte community changes in tundra study sites.

Download Full-text