scholarly journals Single-Species Artificial Grasslands Decrease Soil Multifunctionality in a Temperate Steppe on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2092
Author(s):  
Kelu Chen ◽  
Huakun Zhou ◽  
Bingbing Lu ◽  
Yang Wu ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Temperate Steppe ◽  
Negatively Associated ◽  
Grass Production ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Artificial grasslands have been regarded as an effective method to improve grass production and quality, especially on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Soil ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) plays an important role in sustainable regional development. However, few studies have investigated the impacts of artificial grasslands on soil EMF. Here, we constructed single-species artificial grasslands in a natural temperate steppe and investigated soil microbial communities, abiotic factors (soil moisture and pH), and functions related to biogeochemical cycles to explore (1) how the transformation from temperate steppe to artificial grasslands affected soil EMF and (2) the roles of species and phylogenetic microbial diversities, microbial community composition, and abiotic factors in driving differences in soil EMF. Our results showed that artificial grasslands decreased soil EMF regardless of planting species; that the bacterial and fungal community composition contributed more to soil EMF prediction than species and phylogenetic diversities; and that microbial phylogenetic diversities were negatively associated with soil EMF. Soil pH played an important role in the effects of artificial grasslands on soil EMF—artificial grasslands increased soil pH, which was negatively associated with soil EMF. Overall, the benefits of establishing artificial grasslands, for example, higher grass production and quality, might be at the expense of soil EMF. Further studies should explore mixed-species artificial grasslands.

Patterns of grassland community composition and structure along an elevational gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Wang ◽  
Jiangling Zhu ◽  
Shitao Peng ◽  
Tianli Zheng ◽  
Zhaoyu Qi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Elevational Gradient ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Grassland Community ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Α Diversity ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Abstract Aims Grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau play an important role in preserving ecological security and high biodiversity in this region. However, the distribution of the composition and structure of plant community and the mechanism by which it maintains itself in this region is still poorly understood. Methods Here, we designed 195 grassland plots in 39 grassland sites along an approximately 1700-m elevation gradient on the Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Important findings We found that the grassland community height decreased significantly with the increase of elevation, while community coverage did not demonstrate significant changes. With the increase of elevation, the plant species richness (α diversity) increased significantly, but the community variability (β diversity) decreased significantly. The constrained clustering analysis suggested that the α- and β-diversity in the grasslands transformed gradually with elevation, and three discontinuous points (based on community structure) were observed at elevation of 3640, 4252 and 4333 m. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that the increase of precipitation and the decrease of temperature significantly positively influenced α diversity, which was negatively correlated with β diversity. These results demonstrate that the community composition and structure presented a quantitative-to-qualitative change along this elevational gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

scholarly journals Responses of Soil Microbial Communities to Experimental Warming in Alpine Grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e103859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bin Zhang ◽  
Shengyun Chen ◽  
Xingyuan He ◽  
Wenjie Liu ◽  
Qian Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Experimental Warming ◽  
Alpine Grasslands ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

scholarly journals Influence of Mining and Vegetation Restoration on Soil Properties in the Eastern Margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 4288
Author(s):  
Yunlong Hu ◽  
Zhifeng Yu ◽  
Xiangling Fang ◽  
Weixiong Zhang ◽  
Jinrong Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Enzyme Activities ◽  
Soil Enzyme ◽  
Vegetation Restoration ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Soil Enzyme Activities ◽  
Native Grassland ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Mining causes serious destruction of the surface morphology and soil structure of lands, and vegetation restoration on post-mining lands provides an effective way for soil and water conservation. To determine the influence of mining and vegetation restoration on soil properties in the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, four land sites, including two vegetation restoration sites (restorated by Elymus nutans and Picea crassifolia, respectively), one non-vegetated mining site and one native grassland site, were selected. Fifty-two topsoil (0–10) samples were collected from these four sites, and then soil properties, trace metals and soil enzyme activities were analyzed. The results showed that there was an increase in soil pH (>8.0) after mining, while vegetation restoration decreased the soil pH compared with native grassland; the soil organic matter and total nitrogen in the site restored with E. nutans increased by 48.8% and 25.17%, respectively, compared with the site restored with P. crassifolia. The soil enzyme activities decreased after mining, and there were no significant increases in urease, phosphatase, β-glucosidase and β-1,4-N-acetylglucosaminidase activities after five years of restoration. In addition, the contents of soil trace metals (cadmium, chromium, mercury, lead and zinc) after mining were lower than the Chinese threshold (GB 15618/2018), but the content of arsenic in non-vegetated soil and P. crassifolia-restored soil exceeded the threshold by 22.61 times and 22.86 times, respectively. Therefore, As-contaminated land areas should be accurately determined and treated in a timely way to prevent arsenic from spreading, and plant species with tolerance to alkaline soil should be selected for vegetation restoration on post-mining lands.

scholarly journals Distributions of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers in surface soils of Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: implications of GDGT-based proxies in cold and dry regions

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 481-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ding ◽  
Y. Xu ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
Y. He ◽  
J. Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Function ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Surface Soils ◽  
Additional Influence ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau ◽  
Glycerol Dialkyl Glycerol Tetraethers

Abstract. The methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT) and cyclization ratio of branched tetraethers (CBT) based on the distribution of bacteria-derived branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (bGDGTs) are useful proxies for the reconstruction of continental paleotemperature and soil pH. Several calibrations of the MBT-CBT index have been proposed based on global and regional soils and lake sediments. However, little is known about the distribution and applicability of GDGTs proxies in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), a critical region of the global climate system. Here, we investigated 33 surface soils covering a large area of the QTP. Redundancy analysis showed that soil pH was the most important factor affecting GDGT distributions, followed by mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual air temperature (MAT). The branched-isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index, an indicator for estimation of soil organic matter in aquatic environments, varied from 0.48 to 1 and negatively correlated with soil pH (r2 = 0.38), suggesting that the BIT index should be used with caution in the QTP. A transfer function of the CBT index-soil pH was established to estimate paleo-soil pH in the QTP: pH = 8.33–1.43 × CBT (r2 = 0.80, RMSE = 0.27 pH unit). The local calibration of MBT-CBT index presented a weak, still significant correlation with MAT (r2 = 0.36) mainly owing to the additional influence of MAP (r2 = 0.50). Combining our data with previously reported GDGTs for Chinese soils resulted in a new calibration of MBT/CBT-MAT: MAT = 2.68+26.14 × MBT–3.37 × CBT (r2 = 0.73; RMSE = 4.2 °C, n = 164). The correlation coefficient and residual error of this new transfer function is comparable with global calibrations, suggesting that MBT-CBT paleotemperature proxy is still valid in the QTP.

scholarly journals Bacterial Diversity and Community Composition Distribution in Cold-Desert Habitats of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 262
Author(s):  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Ali Bahadur ◽  
Wasim Sajjad ◽  
Gaosen Zhang ◽  
Fahad Nasir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Bacterial Diversity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Desert Ecosystem ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Cold Desert ◽  
Physicochemical Variables ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Bacterial communities in cold-desert habitats play an important ecological role. However, the variation in bacterial diversity and community composition of the cold-desert ecosystem in Qinghai–Tibet Plateau remains unknown. To fill this scientific gape, Illumina MiSeq sequencing was performed on 15 soil samples collected from different cold-desert habitats, including human-disturbed, vegetation coverage, desert land, and sand dune. The abundance-based coverage estimator, Shannon, and Chao indices showed that the bacterial diversity and abundance of the cold-desert were high. A significant variation reported in the bacterial diversity and community composition across the study area. Proteobacteria accounted for the largest proportion (12.4–55.7%) of all sequences, followed by Actinobacteria (9.2–39.7%), Bacteroidetes (1.8–21.5%), and Chloroflexi (2.7–12.6%). Furthermore, unclassified genera dominated in human-disturbed habitats. The community profiles of GeErMu, HongLiangHe, and CuoNaHu sites were different and metagenomic biomarkers were higher (22) in CuoNaHu sites. Among the soil physicochemical variables, the total nitrogen and electric conductivity significantly influenced the bacterial community structure. In conclusion, this study provides information regarding variation in diversity and composition of bacterial communities and elucidates the association between bacterial community structures and soil physicochemical variables in cold-desert habitats of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.

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