The community assembly rules and species coexistence have always been interested by ecologists. The community phylogenetic structure is the consequence of the interaction process between the organisms and the abiotic ...The community assembly rules and species coexistence have always been interested by ecologists. The community phylogenetic structure is the consequence of the interaction process between the organisms and the abiotic environment and has been used to explain the relative impact of abiotic and biotic factors on species co-existence. In recent years, grassland degradation and biodiversity loss have become increasingly severe on the Mongolian Plateau, while the drivers for these changes are not clearly explored, especially whether climate change is a main factor is debated in academia. In this study, we examined the phylogenetic structure of grassland communities along five transects of climate aridity on the Mongolian Plateau, and analyzed their relations with environmental factors, with the aims to understand the formation mechanism of the grassland communities and the role of climatic factors. We surveyed grassland communities at 81 sites along the five transects, and calculated their net relatedness index(NRI) at two different quadrat scales(small scale of 1 m2 and large scale of 5 m2) to characterize the community phylogenetic structure and analyze its relationship with the key 11 environmental factors. We also calculated the generalized UniFrac distance(GUniFrac) among the grassland communities to quantify the influence of spatial distance and environmental distance on the phylogenetic β diversity. The results indicated that plant community survey using the large scale quadrat contained sufficient species to represent community compositions. The community phylogenetic structure of grasslands was significantly overdispersed at both the small and large scales, and the degree of overdispersion was greater at the large scale than at the small scale, suggesting that competitive exclusion instead of habitat filtering played a major role in determination of community composition. Altitude was the main factor affecting the community phylogenetic structure, whereas climatic factors, such as precipitation and temperature, had limited influence. The principal component analysis of the 11 environmental factors revealed that 94.04% of their variation was accounted by the first four principal components. Moreover only 14.29% and 23.26% of the variation in community phylogenetic structure were explained by the first four principal components at the small and large scales, respectively. Phylogenetic β diversity was slightly significantly correlated with both spatial distance and environmental distance, however, environmental distance had a less explanatory power than spatial distance, indicating a limited environmental effect on the community phylogenetic structure of grasslands on the Mongolian Plateau. In view of the limited effect of climatic factors on the community phylogenetic structure of grasslands, climate change may have a smaller impact on grassland degradation than previously thought.展开更多
Variations in vegetation activity during the past 18 years in China were investigated using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from the 3rd generation time series dataset of NOAA-AVHRR from 1982...Variations in vegetation activity during the past 18 years in China were investigated using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from the 3rd generation time series dataset of NOAA-AVHRR from 1982 to 1999. In order to eliminate the effects of non-vegetation factors, we characterized areas with NDVI < 0.1 as sparsely vegetated areas and areas with NDVI ≥ 0.1 as vegetated areas. The results showed that increasing NDVI trends were evident, to varying extents, in almost all regions in China in the 18 years, indicating that vegetation activity has been rising in recent years in these regions. Compared to the early 1980s, the vegetated area increased by 3.5% by the late 1990s, while the sparsely vegetated area declined by 18.1% in the same period. The national total mean annual NDVI increased by 7.4% during the study period. Extended growing seasons and increased plant growth rates ac-counted for the bulk of these increases, while increases in temperature and summer rainfall, and strengthening agricultural activity were also likely important factors. NDVI changes in China ex-hibited relatively large spatial heterogeneity; the eastern coastal regions experienced declining or indiscernibly rising trends, while agricultural regions and western China experienced marked increases. Such a pattern was due primarily to urbanization, agricultural activity, regional climate characteristics, and different vegetation responses to regional climate changes.展开更多
Understanding the patterns of forage quantity and quality and investigating the factors influencing these patterns are essential for the development of animal husbandry.However,there is very little field evidence focu...Understanding the patterns of forage quantity and quality and investigating the factors influencing these patterns are essential for the development of animal husbandry.However,there is very little field evidence focused on these issues at a large spatial scale.In the current study,we analyzed forage quantity and quality at 177 sites distributed in all the major grassland types across China,and explored the relationship between forage quantity and quality based on consistent sampling protocols.We also investigated potential factors influencing forage quality patterns across China.Our study indicates the Tibetan grasslands had both higher quantity and quality forage than the Inner Mongolian grasslands,and alpine meadow had the best quantity and quality forage because of the meadow's high productivity and the crude protein and nitrogen free extract content of the meadow forage.For the main vegetation formations,Kobresia tibetica meadows and Achnatherum splendens steppes had the highest quantity,while Kobresia pygmaea meadows and Kobresia humilis meadows had the best quality.We also found that although environmental factors,such as temperature and soil fertility,could affect physiological processes and so influence forage quality,the large scale patterns of change were mainly a result of the differences in vegetation types.Finally,we reported a negative relationship between forage quantity and quality:higher forage quantity means more crude fiber but less ether extract and crude protein.These findings improve our understanding on the spatial patterns of forage quantity and quality,and provide solid evidence related to the future development of animal husbandry.展开更多
The relationship between plant species richness and primary productivity has long been a central topic in bio-diversity research.In this paper,we examine the relationship between species richness and productivity in f...The relationship between plant species richness and primary productivity has long been a central topic in bio-diversity research.In this paper,we examine the relationship between species richness and productivity in four typical grasslands of Northern China at different spatial scales.At the community scale,a positive correlation was found for six of seven communities.A unimodal pattern was found only for one community(Stipa glareosa community),while at a large scale(vegetation type or landscape/region),the relationship was also found significantly positive.Species richness ranged from 4 to 35 species,and community aboveground producti-vity from 13 to 368 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1).The highest species richness and aboveground productivity were found in alpine meadow,followed by meadow steppe,typical steppe and desert steppe.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500503)the Science and Technology Program of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China (20140409, 201503001)
文摘The community assembly rules and species coexistence have always been interested by ecologists. The community phylogenetic structure is the consequence of the interaction process between the organisms and the abiotic environment and has been used to explain the relative impact of abiotic and biotic factors on species co-existence. In recent years, grassland degradation and biodiversity loss have become increasingly severe on the Mongolian Plateau, while the drivers for these changes are not clearly explored, especially whether climate change is a main factor is debated in academia. In this study, we examined the phylogenetic structure of grassland communities along five transects of climate aridity on the Mongolian Plateau, and analyzed their relations with environmental factors, with the aims to understand the formation mechanism of the grassland communities and the role of climatic factors. We surveyed grassland communities at 81 sites along the five transects, and calculated their net relatedness index(NRI) at two different quadrat scales(small scale of 1 m2 and large scale of 5 m2) to characterize the community phylogenetic structure and analyze its relationship with the key 11 environmental factors. We also calculated the generalized UniFrac distance(GUniFrac) among the grassland communities to quantify the influence of spatial distance and environmental distance on the phylogenetic β diversity. The results indicated that plant community survey using the large scale quadrat contained sufficient species to represent community compositions. The community phylogenetic structure of grasslands was significantly overdispersed at both the small and large scales, and the degree of overdispersion was greater at the large scale than at the small scale, suggesting that competitive exclusion instead of habitat filtering played a major role in determination of community composition. Altitude was the main factor affecting the community phylogenetic structure, whereas climatic factors, such as precipitation and temperature, had limited influence. The principal component analysis of the 11 environmental factors revealed that 94.04% of their variation was accounted by the first four principal components. Moreover only 14.29% and 23.26% of the variation in community phylogenetic structure were explained by the first four principal components at the small and large scales, respectively. Phylogenetic β diversity was slightly significantly correlated with both spatial distance and environmental distance, however, environmental distance had a less explanatory power than spatial distance, indicating a limited environmental effect on the community phylogenetic structure of grasslands on the Mongolian Plateau. In view of the limited effect of climatic factors on the community phylogenetic structure of grasslands, climate change may have a smaller impact on grassland degradation than previously thought.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.40024101&90211016).
文摘Variations in vegetation activity during the past 18 years in China were investigated using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from the 3rd generation time series dataset of NOAA-AVHRR from 1982 to 1999. In order to eliminate the effects of non-vegetation factors, we characterized areas with NDVI < 0.1 as sparsely vegetated areas and areas with NDVI ≥ 0.1 as vegetated areas. The results showed that increasing NDVI trends were evident, to varying extents, in almost all regions in China in the 18 years, indicating that vegetation activity has been rising in recent years in these regions. Compared to the early 1980s, the vegetated area increased by 3.5% by the late 1990s, while the sparsely vegetated area declined by 18.1% in the same period. The national total mean annual NDVI increased by 7.4% during the study period. Extended growing seasons and increased plant growth rates ac-counted for the bulk of these increases, while increases in temperature and summer rainfall, and strengthening agricultural activity were also likely important factors. NDVI changes in China ex-hibited relatively large spatial heterogeneity; the eastern coastal regions experienced declining or indiscernibly rising trends, while agricultural regions and western China experienced marked increases. Such a pattern was due primarily to urbanization, agricultural activity, regional climate characteristics, and different vegetation responses to regional climate changes.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31025005 and 31021001)the Program of "One Hundred Talented People" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KSCX2-YW-Z-0806)
文摘Understanding the patterns of forage quantity and quality and investigating the factors influencing these patterns are essential for the development of animal husbandry.However,there is very little field evidence focused on these issues at a large spatial scale.In the current study,we analyzed forage quantity and quality at 177 sites distributed in all the major grassland types across China,and explored the relationship between forage quantity and quality based on consistent sampling protocols.We also investigated potential factors influencing forage quality patterns across China.Our study indicates the Tibetan grasslands had both higher quantity and quality forage than the Inner Mongolian grasslands,and alpine meadow had the best quantity and quality forage because of the meadow's high productivity and the crude protein and nitrogen free extract content of the meadow forage.For the main vegetation formations,Kobresia tibetica meadows and Achnatherum splendens steppes had the highest quantity,while Kobresia pygmaea meadows and Kobresia humilis meadows had the best quality.We also found that although environmental factors,such as temperature and soil fertility,could affect physiological processes and so influence forage quality,the large scale patterns of change were mainly a result of the differences in vegetation types.Finally,we reported a negative relationship between forage quantity and quality:higher forage quantity means more crude fiber but less ether extract and crude protein.These findings improve our understanding on the spatial patterns of forage quantity and quality,and provide solid evidence related to the future development of animal husbandry.
基金Ren Y L for helpful field assistance.We are grateful to Yang Y H and Zhu B for helpful comments.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.90211016 and 40021101)Environmental and Ecological Science in West China(No.90102011).
文摘The relationship between plant species richness and primary productivity has long been a central topic in bio-diversity research.In this paper,we examine the relationship between species richness and productivity in four typical grasslands of Northern China at different spatial scales.At the community scale,a positive correlation was found for six of seven communities.A unimodal pattern was found only for one community(Stipa glareosa community),while at a large scale(vegetation type or landscape/region),the relationship was also found significantly positive.Species richness ranged from 4 to 35 species,and community aboveground producti-vity from 13 to 368 g·m^(-2)·a^(-1).The highest species richness and aboveground productivity were found in alpine meadow,followed by meadow steppe,typical steppe and desert steppe.
