Response of soil macrofauna diversity to environmental factors under plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) disturbance in alpine meadow ecosystem

Environmental stability is a multifaceted concept and includes properties such as asymptotic stability, robustness, persistence, variability, elasticity and resistance. Resistance reflects the ability of a community or population to remain in a substantially unaltered state under external influence. The reverse of resistance is sensitivity. This article suggests a way to assess the sensitivity of animal communities to factors of various character and explain sensitivity and resistance of the macrofauna community near the floodplain of the river Dnieper within the "Dnipro-Orelsky" Nature Reserve to the effects of edaphic and plant factors, as well as spatial variables. It is shown that the regulatory impact of environmental factors is refracted through the properties of ecological systems themselves, namely resistance and sensitivity. If an ecological system does not react to changing environmental factors, such a system is indifferent with respect to these factors. In the case of regulatory influence of factors, there may be resistance, sensitivity and the proportionality of the response of the ecological system. The ratio of the specific role of a factor in the variability of a community to the contribution of the main components of the total variability of the attributive space makes it possible to assess the resistance, sensitivity and proportionality of response the ecological system to the action of that factor. If the ratio is >1, then this indicates sensitivity: level of variability of a community is higher than the relative role of environmental factors in the changing of the attributive space. If <1, this indicates resistance: the level of variability of a community is lower than the relative role of environmental factors in the changing of the attributive space. If the ratio =1 (≈1), changes in the community are proportional to the level of the main components of variation in comparison with other components. Ecological factors (both external environmental and internal due to species interactions and which have a neutral nature) cause different levels of community response to their impact. These differences refracted through different aspects of stability of a community can be described using the categories resistance, sensitivity and proportionality. The proposed procedure for quantification of specified properties of sustainability has established that the floodplain soil macrofauna is endowed with resistance to factors that prevail on the level of its variation. However, macrofauna is highly sensitive to minor factors. The community of the soil inhabitants is sensitive to fine-scale variations, which have a neutral nature.

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Relative importance of spatial processes and environmental factors in shaping alpine meadow communities

Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.1093/jpe/rtq034 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 249-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Q. Li ◽

X. Yang ◽

J. Soininen ◽

C.-J. Chu ◽

J.-Q. Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Alpine Meadow ◽

Relative Importance ◽

Spatial Processes ◽

Meadow Communities

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Characteristics of Culturable Microbial Community in Rhizosphere/Non-rhizosphere Soil of Potentilla Fruticosa Population in Alpine Meadow Elevation Gradient

Frontiers in Soil Science ◽

10.3389/fsoil.2021.741012 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Author(s):

Minxia Liu ◽

Bowen Li ◽

Lu Xu ◽

Ruixin Yu

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Functional Groups ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Rhizosphere Soil ◽

Alpine Meadow ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Elevation Gradients ◽

Potentilla Fruticosa ◽

Microbial Functional Groups

Potentilla fruticosa is a typical shrub of alpine meadows with canopy effects that can greatly influence soil fertility and microbiological parameters. Changes in rhizosphere microorganisms can reflect the response of these plants to environmental changes. This study aimed to examine the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere of P. fruticosa on the amount of selected microorganisms and main environmental factors at different elevation gradients (3,000, 3,250, 3,500, 3,750, and 4,000 m). The results suggested that bacteria were predominant of the microbial soil community in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere, while fungi and actinomycetes represented the minority. With the increase of altitude, the total amount of microbial, bacteria, and actinomycetes in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere of P. fruticosa showed a downward trend, and microbial functional groups showed that the “hump shape” changed, but the fungi showed the opposite. Variance inflation factor (VIF) screening environmental factors and path analysis were obtained. In the rhizosphere soil, bacteria were affected by Soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil bulk density (SBD) became the main environmental limiting factor with the increase of altitude. The main environmental limiting factor of actinomycetes changed from SBD to Soil total (ST). In the non-rhizosphere soil, the bacteria and actinomycetes changed from ST to SOC and SBD, respectively. The main environmental limiting factor of the fungi was SOC in the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere. Soil water content (SWC) was the main environmental determinant factor for all microbial groups, microbial functional groups were related to Soil total nitrogen (STN). Our results help to understand the relationship between nutrient cycling and the ecosystem function of alpine meadow plant soil microorganisms and provide theoretical support for alpine meadow ecosystem restoration, biodiversity protection, and the use of microbial resources.

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Relationship between the spatial distribution of the mounds of plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) and environmental factors in eastern Qilian Mountain

Acta Ecologica Sinica ◽

10.5846/stxb201612292705 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

Author(s):

楚彬 CHU Bin ◽

马素洁 MA Sujie ◽

周延山 ZHOU Yanshan ◽

姬程鹏 JI Chengpeng ◽

周建伟 ZHOU Jianwei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Qilian Mountain ◽

Plateau Zokor

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

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-9-14559-2012 ◽

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.

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

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.6921 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. e6921 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

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.

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The Role of Edaphic and Vegetation Factors in Structuring Beta Diversity of the Soil Macrofauna Community of the Dnipro River Arena Terrace

Ekológia (Bratislava) ◽

10.2478/eko-2018-0023 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 301-327 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Olexander Zhukov ◽

Olga Kunah ◽

Yulia Dubinina ◽

Victoria Novikova

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Principal Components ◽

Beta Diversity ◽

Sequential Analysis ◽

Permutation Test ◽

Ecological Factors ◽

Principal Component ◽

Alpha Diversity ◽

Soil Macrofauna

AbstractThe article presents the results of evaluation of the role of edaphic and vegetation factors on beta diversity of soil macrofauna by means of the MDM-approach. The multinomial diversity model (MDM) is a method for relating the Shannon diversity to ecological factors. The research was conducted in the ‘Dnipro-Orils’kiy’ Nature Reserve (Ukraine). The research polygon was laid in the forest within the Orlova ravine (48º31’13 “N, 34º48”15 “E). The study site comprises 1.0 ha of deciduous woodland bordered by an area of herbaceous cover within the ravine. In the soil of the studied polygon, 38 species of soil invertebrates were identified, which characterizes the gamma diversity. Alpha diversity, or the number of species on average at each sample point is 4.3. Beta diversity is 8.8. The principal component analysis of the edaphic parameters revealed four statistically significant principal components. For vegetation characteristics, six statistically significant principal components were identified. The sequential analysis of the effects shows that edaphic factors accounted for 20.9% (0.81 bit) of the available entropy (1.71–0.91). The largest decrease in the community entropy takes place under the action of the principal components 2 and 3 (0.06 bit and 0.05, respectively). A permutation test showed that these effects are statistically significant. In turn, 28.4% of the community β-diversity is attributable to vegetation factors. The greatest decrease in community entropy is related to the principal vegetation components 1, 3 and 4 (0.07, 0.05 and 0.04 bits, respectively). A permutation test indicated that this effect is statistically reliable. Geostatistical models substantially describe the varying effects on the beta-diversity of edaphic principal components 1 and 2, and the vegetation principal components 1 and 3. It was found that edaphic and plant factors play an important role in structuring the communities of soil macrofauna on the level of beta diversity. Community sensitivity to environmental factors varies in space and is spatially structured. For different environmental factors, specific spatial patterns of community sensitivity are allocated. Beta diversity may be due to the fact that the species of soil macrofauna communities also vary in the degree of sensitivity to various environmental factors. The species of soil microfauna are also divided according to their extent of sensitivity to different ecological factors.

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