Mowing is an important land management practice for natural semi-arid regions. A growing body of empirical evidence shows that different mowing regimes affect the functioning of grassland ecosystems. However, the resp...Mowing is an important land management practice for natural semi-arid regions. A growing body of empirical evidence shows that different mowing regimes affect the functioning of grassland ecosystems. However, the responses of plant functional traits to long-term mowing and their allometric scaling under long-term mowing are poorly understood. For a better understanding of the effects of mowing on grassland ecosystems, we analyzed the allometric traits of leaves and stems of Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel., a dominant grass species in eastern Eurasian temperate grassland, at different mowing intensities (no clipping, clipping once every two years, once a year and twice a year). Experiments were conducted on plots established over a decade ago in a typical steppe of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. Results showed that most of the functional traits of L. chinensis decreased with the increased mowing intensity. The responses of leaves and stems to long-term mowing were asymmetric, in which leaf traits were more stable than stem traits. Also significant allometric relationships were found among most of the plant functional traits under the four mowing treatments. Sensitive traits of L. chinensis (e.g. leaf length and stem length) were primary indicators associated with aboveground biomass decline under high mowing intensity. In conclusion, the allometric growth of different functional traits of L. chinensis varies with different long-term mowing practices, which is likely to be a strategy used by the plant to adapt to the mowing disturbances.展开更多
The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known abo...The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known about the effect of these ecological restoration practices on soil carbon and nitrogen storage. In this study, characteristics of vegetation and soil properties under continued grazing and exclusion of livestock for six years due to a nationwide conservation program—′Returning Grazing Lands to Grasslands(RGLG)′ were examined in semi-arid Hulun Buir grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. The results show that removal of grazing for six years resulted in a significant recovery in vegetation with higher above and below-ground biomass, but a lower soil bulk density and pH value. After six years of grazing exclusion, soil organic C and total N storage increased by 13.9% and 17.1%, respectively, which could be partly explained by decreased loss and increased input of C and N to soil. The effects of grazing exclusion on soil C and N concentration and storage primarily occurred in the upper soil depths. The results indicate that removal of grazing pressure within the RGLG program was an effective restoration approach to control grassland degradation in this region. However, more comprehensive studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the RGLG program and to improve the management strategies for grassland restoration in this area.展开更多
The aboveground primary production is a major source of carbon(C) and nitrogen(N) pool and plays an important role in regulating the response of ecosystem and nutrient cycling to natural and anthropogenic disturbances...The aboveground primary production is a major source of carbon(C) and nitrogen(N) pool and plays an important role in regulating the response of ecosystem and nutrient cycling to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. To explore the mechanisms underlying the effect of spring fire and topography on the aboveground biomass(AGB) and the soil C and N pool, we conducted a field experiment between April 2014 and August 2016 in a semi-arid grassland of northern China to examine the effects of slope and spring fire, and their potential interactions on the AGB and organic C and total N contents in different plant functional groups(C_3 grasses, C_4 grasses, forbs, Artemisia frigida plants, total grasses and total plants).The dynamics of AGB and the contents of organic C and N in the plants were examined in the burned and unburned plots on different slope positions(upper and lower). There were differences in the total AGB of all plants between the two slope positions. The AGB of grasses was higher on the lower slope than on the upper slope in July. On the lower slope, spring fire marginally or significantly increased the AGB of C_3 grasses, forbs, total grasses and total plants in June and August, but decreased the AGB of C_4 grasses and A.frigida plants from June to August. On the upper slope, however, spring fire significantly increased the AGB of forbs in June, the AGB of C_3 grasses and total grasses in July, and the AGB of forbs and C_4 grasses in August. Spring fire exhibited no significant effect on the total AGB of all plants on the lower and upper slopes in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, the total AGB in the burned plots showed a decreasing trend after fire burning compared with the unburned plots. The different plant functional groups had different responses to slope positions in terms of organic C and N contents in the plants. The lower and upper slopes differed with respect to the organic C and N contents of C_3 grasses, C_4 grasses, total grasses, forbs, A. frigida plants and total plants in different growing months. Slope position and spring fire significantly interacted to affect the AGB and organic C and N contents of C_4 grasses and A. frigida plants. We observed the AGB and organic C and N contents in the plants in a temporal synchronized pattern. Spring fire affected the functional AGB on different slope positions, likely by altering the organic C and N contents and, therefore,it is an important process for C and N cycling in the semi-arid natural grasslands. The findings of this study would facilitate the simulation of ecosystem C and N cycling in the semi-arid grasslands in northern China.展开更多
Due to increasing global demand for crop production and energy use, more and more reactive nitrogen(Nr) has been generated and emitted to the environment. As a result, global atmospheric nitrogen(N) deposition has...Due to increasing global demand for crop production and energy use, more and more reactive nitrogen(Nr) has been generated and emitted to the environment. As a result, global atmospheric nitrogen(N) deposition has tripled since the industrial revolution and the ecological environment and human health have been harmed. In this study, we measured dry and wet/bulk N deposition from July 2013 to December 2015 in a semi-arid grassland of Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China. The samples of dry and wet/bulk N deposition were collected monthly with a DELTA(DEnuder for Long Term Atmospheric sampling) system and with Gradko passive samplers and a precipitation gauge. The measured results show that the annual mean concentrations of NH_3, NO_2, HNO_3, particulate NH_4~+(pNH_4~+) and particulate NO_3^-(pNO_3^-) in atmosphere were 2.33, 1.90, 0.18, 1.42 and 0.42 μg N/m3, respectively, and that the annual mean volume-weighted concentrations of NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N in precipitation were 2.71 and 1.99 mg N/L, respectively. The concentrations of Nr components(including NH_3, NO_2, HNO_3, p NH_4~+, pNO_3^-, NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N) exhibited different seasonal variations. Specifically, NO_2 and HNO_3 exhibited higher concentrations in autumn than in summer, while the other Nr components(NH_3, pNH_4~+, pNO_3^-, NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N) showed the highest values in summer. Based on measured concentrations of Nr components and their deposition velocities estimated using the GEOS-Chem global atmospheric chemical transport model, the calculated annual mean dry deposition fluxes were 3.17, 1.13, 0.63, 0.91 and 0.36 kg N/(hm^2·a) for NH_3, NO_2, HNO_3, p NH_4~+ and pNO_3^-, respectively, and the calculated annual mean wet/bulk deposition fluxes were 5.37 and 3.15 kg N/(hm^2·a) for NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N, respectively. The estimated annual N deposition(including dry N deposition and wet/bulk N deposition) reached 14.7 kg N/(hm^2·a) in grassland of Duolun County, approaching to the upper limit of the N critical load(10–15 kg N/(hm^2·a)). Dry and wet/bulk deposition fluxes of all Nr components(with an exception of HNO_3) showed similar seasonal variations with the maximum deposition flux in summer and the minimum in winter. Reduced Nr components(e.g., gaseous NH_3 and p NH_4~+ in atmosphere and NH_4~+-N in precipitation) dominated the total N deposition at the sampling site(accounted for 64% of the total N deposition), suggesting that the deposited atmospheric Nr mainly originated from agricultural activities. Considering the projected future increases in crop and livestock production in Inner Mongolia, the ecological and human risks to the negative effects of increased N deposition could be increased if no mitigation measures are taken.展开更多
Grasslands in northern China serve the country as both an ecological barrier and a livestock production base.There,installing enclosures has been becoming the major grassland restoration measure adopted by many local ...Grasslands in northern China serve the country as both an ecological barrier and a livestock production base.There,installing enclosures has been becoming the major grassland restoration measure adopted by many local governments.However,the effects of restoration on both ecological and production benefits of grassland remain unclear for implemented grassland restoration policies.Therefore,a representative rangeland in northern China,the Maodeng pasture in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was selected as the study area,and remote sensing monitoring analyses were carried out to quantify the ecological benefits and economic benefits from 2015 to 2021.The results showed that:1) in terms of ecological benefits,the grassland area with a grassland coverage rate of more than 60% accounts for 32.3% of the regional area,and 86.4% of its grassland grew significantly better than the same period in2015,showing a significant improvement in grassland growth.Using the average amount of carbon per unit area as the ecological benefit evaluation index,it increased by 27.1% to 32.48Tg C/yr from 2015 to 2021.2) In terms of economic benefits,both theoretical grass production and livestock carrying capacity increased from 2015 to 2021.Compared to 2015,the theoretical grass production in 2021 increased by 24.8% to 71 900 t.The livestock carrying capacity reached 52 100 sheep units in 2021,nearly 11 000 sheep units more than that in 2015.During the study period,multiple economic indicators(on a per capita basis of permanent residents) for the pastoral area of Xilinhot City to which the Maodeng pasture belongs,have grown steadily.Per capita total income rose from 29 630 yuan(RMB) in2015 to 62 859 yuan(RMB) in 2021.Relying on grassland resources to develop the pastoral ecology also broadens the potential economic development space.Overall,the establishment of the reserve and the experiment of implanting an enclosure policy have had a significant and positive impact on Maodeng pasture’s development from both an ecological and economic perspective.With the support of scientific evidence,enclosure policy can be extended to more than 110 000 km~2 of grasslands in northern China with similar precipitation and temperature conditions,enhancing the productive and ecological potential of grasslands.The above research results will contribute to the scientific formulation of grassland pasture quality improvement plans in northern China.展开更多
Ecological stability is a core issue in ecological research and holds significant implications forhumanity. The increased frequency and intensity of drought and wet climate events resulting from climatechange pose a m...Ecological stability is a core issue in ecological research and holds significant implications forhumanity. The increased frequency and intensity of drought and wet climate events resulting from climatechange pose a major threat to global ecological stability. Variations in stability among different ecosystemshave been confirmed, but it remains unclear whether there are differences in stability within the sameterrestrial vegetation ecosystem under the influence of climate events in different directions and intensities.China's grassland ecosystem includes most grassland types and is a good choice for studying this issue.This study used the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index-12 (SPEI-12) to identify thedirections and intensities of different types of climate events, and based on Normalized DifferenceVegetation Index (NDVI), calculated the resistance and resilience of different grassland types for 30consecutive years from 1990 to 2019 (resistance and resilience are important indicators to measurestability). Based on a traditional regression model, standardized methods were integrated to analyze theimpacts of the intensity and duration of drought and wet events on vegetation stability. The resultsshowed that meadow steppe exhibited the highest stability, while alpine steppe and desert steppe had thelowest overall stability. The stability of typical steppe, alpine meadow, temperate meadow was at anintermediate level. Regarding the impact of the duration and intensity of climate events on vegetationecosystem stability for the same grassland type, the resilience of desert steppe during drought was mainlyaffected by the duration. In contrast, the impact of intensity was not significant. However, alpine steppewas mainly affected by intensity in wet environments, and duration had no significant impact. Ourconclusions can provide decision support for the future grassland ecosystem governance.展开更多
Grassland biomass is an important parameter of grassland ecosystems.The complexity of the grassland canopy vegetation spectrum makes the long-term assessment of grassland growth a challenge.Few studies have explored t...Grassland biomass is an important parameter of grassland ecosystems.The complexity of the grassland canopy vegetation spectrum makes the long-term assessment of grassland growth a challenge.Few studies have explored the original spectral information of typical grasslands in Inner Mongolia and examined the influence of spectral information on aboveground biomass(AGB)estimation.In order to improve the accuracy of vegetation index inversion of grassland AGB,this study combined ground and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)remote sensing technology and screened sensitive bands through ground hyperspectral data transformation and correlation analysis.The narrow band vegetation indices were calculated,and ground and airborne hyperspectral inversion models were established.Finally,the accuracy of the model was verified.The results showed that:(1)The vegetation indices constructed based on the ASD FieldSpec 4 and the UAV were significantly correlated with the dry and fresh weight of AGB.(2)The comparison between measured R^(2) with the prediction R^(2) indicated that the accuracy of the model was the best when using the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index(SAVI)as the independent variable in the analysis of AGB(fresh weight/dry weight)and four narrow-band vegetation indices.The SAVI vegetation index showed better applicability for biomass monitoring in typical grassland areas of Inner Mongolia.(3)The obtained ground and airborne hyperspectral data with the optimal vegetation index suggested that the dry weight of AGB has the best fitting effect with airborne hyperspectral data,where y=17.962e^(4.672x),the fitting R^(2) was 0.542,the prediction R^(2)was 0.424,and RMSE and REE were 57.03 and 0.65,respectively.Therefore,established vegetation indices by screening sensitive bands through hyperspectral feature analysis can significantly improve the inversion accuracy of typical grassland biomass in Inner Mongolia.Compared with ground monitoring,airborne hyperspectral monitoring better reflects the inversion of actual surface biomass.It provides a reliable modeling framework for grassland AGB monitoring and scientific and technological support for grazing management.展开更多
Based on 3 years (2003-05) of the eddy covariance (EC) observations on degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semi-arid area of Tongyu (44°25′N, 122°52′E, 184 m a.s.1.), Northeast China, seaso...Based on 3 years (2003-05) of the eddy covariance (EC) observations on degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semi-arid area of Tongyu (44°25′N, 122°52′E, 184 m a.s.1.), Northeast China, seasonal and annual variations of water, energy and CO2 fluxes have been investigated. The soil moisture in the thin soil layer (at 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 m) clearly indicates the pronounced annual wet-dry cycle; the annual cycle is divided into the wet (growing season) and dry seasons (non-growing season). During the growing season (from May to September), the sensible and latent heat fluxes showed a linear dependence on the global solar radiation. However, in the non-growing season, the latent heat flux was always less than 50 W m^-2, while the available energy was dissipated as sensible, rather than latent heat flux. During the growing season in 2003-05, the daily average sensible and latent heat fluxes were larger on the cropland surface than on the degraded grassland surface. The cropland ecosystem absorbed more CO2 than the degraded grassland ecosystem in the growing season in 2003-05. The total evapotranspiration on the cropland was more than the total precipitation, while the total evapotranspiration on the degraded grassland was almost the same as the total annual precipitation in the growing season. The soil moisture had a good correlation with the rainfall in the growing season. Precipitation in the growing season is an important factor on the water and carbon budget in the semi-arid area.展开更多
Ecological restoration measures implemented in China have profoundly impacted vegetation NPP.This study aimed to estimate the effects of the land conversion and management measures on the grassland ecosystem in semi-a...Ecological restoration measures implemented in China have profoundly impacted vegetation NPP.This study aimed to estimate the effects of the land conversion and management measures on the grassland ecosystem in semi-arid regions.Land use data were employed from 2000 to 2015 to compare land conversion and coverage changes in Xilingol grassland.Then,the contributions of land conversion and management policies were quantified by assessing the difference between actual NPP and climate-induced NPP changes.The results indicated that the grassland area had a net loss of 534.42 km^(2),and the net area of increased vegetation coverage was 74,683.05 km^(2).Furthermore,the total NPP increased by 8,010.73 Gg C·yr^(−1)(1 Gg=10^(9)g),of which the human activities,including grazing management measures(+6,809.40 Gg C·yr^(−1))and land conversion(45.72 Gg C·yr^(−1))contributed to 85.58%of the increase in NPP.Transformation from desert and farmland dominated grassland expansion and NPP increase,while urbanization and desertification caused large grassland reduction and NPP loss.The grazing management increased vegetation NPP in most regions except for some regions in the desert steppe and the farming-pastoral zone.Related policies should be further adjusted to strengthen the management of the desert steppe and farming-pastoral regions.展开更多
Climate change is predicted to alter global precipitation regimes.However,the response of soil carbon and nitrogen cycles and soil microorganisms to precipitation reduction is poorly understood but is dependent on eco...Climate change is predicted to alter global precipitation regimes.However,the response of soil carbon and nitrogen cycles and soil microorganisms to precipitation reduction is poorly understood but is dependent on ecosystem type.To evaluate the impacts of reduced precipitation on soil respiration,soil inorganic nitrogen(i.e.,NH4^+–N and NO3^-–N),nitrogen mineralization,and soil microbial community composition,a precipitation manipulation experiment was initiated in a Mongolian pine plantation and a naturally restored grassland in semi-arid northeast China.Precipitation reduction led to decreases of soil respiration rates by 14 and 8%in 2014 and 2015 in the Mongolian pine plantation but no changes in the grassland.Soil inorganic nitrogen,ammonification and nitrification rate,and soil phospholipids fatty acids were not significantly changed by reduced precipitation but significantly differed between the two ecosystems and among growing seasons.Our results suggest that the impacts of precipitation reduction on soil respiration were different between the Mongolian pine plantation and the grassland,and that ecosystem type and growing season had more pronounced impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles.展开更多
Soil erosion can cause considerable effect on global natural resources and eco-environment. In the paper, the CENTURY model has been used to simulate soil erosion in Xilin Gol Grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results ...Soil erosion can cause considerable effect on global natural resources and eco-environment. In the paper, the CENTURY model has been used to simulate soil erosion in Xilin Gol Grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results showed before the 1960s, the soil erosion amount was over 2 kg /m2.a in grassland ecosystem in the study area because no trees had been planted. But after the 1960s the mean annual accumulator C lost from soil organic matter due to soil erosion was only 0.3 kg /m2.a in forest ecosystem. So afforestation has exerted notable effect on decreasing soil erosion amount in Xilin Gol Grassland.展开更多
Construction of artificial grassland is a key factor to solve the shortage of grass and forage balance in cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau,and it is the key measure to ensure the sustainable development of gra...Construction of artificial grassland is a key factor to solve the shortage of grass and forage balance in cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau,and it is the key measure to ensure the sustainable development of grassland animal husbandry in this area. At present,the artificial grassland construction is neither reasonable nor scientific,which restricts the healthy and rapid development of artificial grassland in the cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau. In this research,with Naqu Area in Tibet as a case,problems and current status in construction process of artificial grassland are analyzed in cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau. Suitable artificial forage species in Nagqu are elaborated,and recommendations for the construction and development of artificial grassland are discussed.展开更多
Planting under plastic-film mulches is widely used in spring maize production in arid-cold regions for water conservation and warming the soil.To ameliorate the associated issues such as plastic-film residues and addi...Planting under plastic-film mulches is widely used in spring maize production in arid-cold regions for water conservation and warming the soil.To ameliorate the associated issues such as plastic-film residues and additional labor during the“seedling release”in spring maize production,we have developed a plastic-film-side seeding(PSS)technology with the supporting machinery.In the semi-arid regions of Northwest China,a 7-year trial demonstrated that PSS increased plant number per hectare by 6547 and maize yield by 1686 kg ha–1compared with the traditional method of seeding under plastic-film mulch(PM).Two-year experiments were conducted in two semi-arid regions to further understand the effects of PSS on three important aspects of production:(i)the moisture and temperature of soil,(ii)maize development,yield output,and water use efficiency(WUE),and(iii)the revenue and plastic-film residuals in comparison with that of flat planting(CK)and PM.Continuous monitoring of the soil status demonstrated that,compared with CK,the PSS treatment significantly increased the temperature and moisture of the 0–20 cm soil in the seeding row at the early stage of maize development,and it also promoted grain yield(at 884–1089 kg ha^(–1))and WUE,achieving a similar effect as the PM treatment.Economically,the labor inputs of PSS were equal to CK,whereas the PM cost an additional 960 CNY ha–1in labor for releasing the seedlings from below the film.Overall,the PSS system increased profits by 5.83%(547 CNY ha^(–1)yr^(–1))and 8.16%(748 CNY ha^(–1)yr^(–1))compared with CK and PM,respectively.Environmentally,PSS achieved a residual film recovery rate of nearly 100%and eliminated 96 to 130 kg ha^(–1)of residual plastic-film in PM in 3–5 years of maize production.Collectively,these results show that PSS is an eco-friendly technique for improving yield stability and incomes for the sustainable production of maize in semi-arid regions.展开更多
The fully mulched ridge–furrow(FMRF) system has been widely used on the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China due to its high maize(Zea mays L.) productivity and rainfall use efficiency. However, high outputs under this s...The fully mulched ridge–furrow(FMRF) system has been widely used on the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China due to its high maize(Zea mays L.) productivity and rainfall use efficiency. However, high outputs under this system led to a depletion of soil moisture and soil nutrients, which reduces its sustainability in the long run. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the system for the sustainable development of agriculture. The development, yield-increasing mechanisms,negative impacts, optimization, and their relations in the FMRF system are reviewed in this paper. We suggest using grain and forage maize varieties instead of regular maize;mulching plastic film in autumn or leaving the mulch after maize harvesting until the next spring, and then removing the old film and mulching new film;combining reduced/notillage with straw return;utilizing crop rotation or intercropping with winter canola(Brassica campestris L.), millet(Setaria italica), or oilseed flax(Linum usitatissimum L.);reducing nitrogen fertilizer and partially replacing chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer;using biodegradable or weather-resistant film;and implementing mechanized production. These integrations help to establish an environmentally friendly, high quality, and sustainable agricultural system, promote highquality development of dryland farming, and create new opportunities for agricultural development in the semi-arid Loess Plateau.展开更多
In grassland ecosystems,the aerodynamic roughness(Z0)and frictional wind speed(u*)contribute to the aerodynamic impedance of the grassland canopy.Thus,they are often used in the studies of wind erosion and evapotransp...In grassland ecosystems,the aerodynamic roughness(Z0)and frictional wind speed(u*)contribute to the aerodynamic impedance of the grassland canopy.Thus,they are often used in the studies of wind erosion and evapotranspiration.However,the effect of wind speed and grazing measures on the aerodynamic impedance of the grassland canopy has received less analysis.In this study,we monitored wind speeds at multiple heights in grazed and grazing-prohibited grasslands for 1 month in 2021,determined the transit wind speed at 2.0 m height by comparing wind speed differences at the same height in both grasslands,and divided these transit wind speeds at intervals of 2.0 m/s to analyze the effect of the transit wind speed on the relationship among Z0,u*,and wind speed within the grassland canopy.The results showed that dividing the transit wind speeds into intervals has a positive effect on the logarithmic fit of the wind speed profile.After dividing the transit wind speeds into intervals,the wind speed at 0.1 m height(V0.1)gradually decreased with the increase of Z0,exhibiting three distinct stages:a sharp change zone,a steady change zone,and a flat zone;while the overall trend of u*increased first and then decreased with the increase of V0.1.Dividing the transit wind speeds into intervals improved the fitting relationship between Z0 and V0.1 and changed their fitting functions in grazed and grazing-prohibited grasslands.According to the computational fluid dynamic results,we found that the number of tall-stature plants has a more significant effect on windproof capacity than their height.The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between wind speed and the aerodynamic impedance of vegetation in grassland environments.展开更多
Anticipating global change impact on natural vegetation,especially in poorly researched systems,requires an understanding of the environmental factors that most strongly influence the organisation of plant communities...Anticipating global change impact on natural vegetation,especially in poorly researched systems,requires an understanding of the environmental factors that most strongly influence the organisation of plant communities at different scales.The environmental relations of plant communities in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa remain poorly researched.This study investigated the influence of selected environmental determinants on the dominant species of plant community organisation in this area.In order to provide an overview of the influence of the environment on botanical composition and plant diversity,this study,conducted as four discrete exercises,investigated the interplay of altitude,aspect and slope on the abundance of selected species,and to examine the influence of latitude,geological substrate and local topography on species composition.Plant diversity showed no pattern of response to investigated environmental variables.Species composition was related to temperature and solarradiation variables.High altitude sites facing east were distinct for non-graminoid species.Altitude and latitude exerted a pronounced effect on species composition,confounded by longitude and precipitation gradients.Geological substrate,in concert with slope steepness and orientation,influenced composition,restricting the abundance but not distribution of some grasses.Highly individualistic responses were found for C_3,C_4,and non-graminoid species in relation to altitude,slope and aspect.Slope and aspect mediate the effects of altitude and hence temperature for some species.This study has demonstrated the complexity of drivers influencing species and compositional distribution in the Drakensberg and permits a preliminary consideration of potential changes in the composition and dominance structure of mid-elevation grasslands in response to climate change.The dominant grass species were widespread across environmental gradients,occupying currently warm,cool,moist and dry habitats.Hence,we predict that these midelevation C_4 grasslands will persist in the face of current patterns of climate change provided they are not unduly impacted by other global change threats such as altered fire regimes and nutrient deposition.This prediction is,however,unlikely to apply to the herbaceous dicotyledons and non-graminoid monocotyledons,a component which contributes 78%towards species richness.This study could not make a critical assessment of the non-graminoid species owing to their low frequency of occurrence and low abundance in our plot-based sampling approach.Further monitoring and a targeted sampling approach is is required in future.展开更多
As one of the basic theories of biodiversity conservation,island biogeography has been widely accepted in the past decades.Originally,island biogeography was put forward and applied in oceanic environments.But later o...As one of the basic theories of biodiversity conservation,island biogeography has been widely accepted in the past decades.Originally,island biogeography was put forward and applied in oceanic environments.But later on,it was found out that the application was not only limited to oceanic islands,but also in terrestrial environments with relatively isolated conditions.In terms of biodiversity level,island biogeography generally focuses on a small scale,such as species diversity and genetic diversity.The studies of biodiversity on a large-scale based on island biogeography,such as ecosystem and landscape scales,were seldomly conducted.Taking Poyang Lake,the largest fresh water lake in China as case study area,30 grasslands were randomly selected to study whether island biogeography can be applied to grasslands at a landscape level from three island attributes(area,distance and shape),and the most important ecological variable(flooding)in Poyang Lake.The results showed that in general,grasslands have the property of an island,and follow the basic principle of island biogeography.We found the area and flooding duration were the two most important determinants of landscape diversity.There was a significant positive correlation between the grassland area and the landscape diversity,which could be well expressed by logarithmic function model(R2=0.73).There was a negative correlation between flooding duration and landscape diversity,which could be described by an inverse model(R2=0.206).The distance to mainland and the shape of grassland were correlated with landscape diversity,but the fitting result of the models was not as good as expected.The possible reason could be that Poyang Lake is a seasonal lake,the water level varies with hydrological conditions,so that the grasslands are not strongly isolated and their shape is not stable enough required by island biogeography.Furthermore,it indicates that besides area,distance and shape attributes,flooding strongly affects the biodiversity of grassland vegetation,and should not be ignored when applying island biogeography theory to Poyang Lake.This study is expected to be a supplement for island biogeography in terrestrial environments,and the results are expected to benefit for the biodiversity conservation in Poyang Lake.展开更多
Rotational grazing is considered as one of the nature-based solutions(NbS)to grassland protection by natural scientists.However,its effects on improving grassland quality are still unclear when it is adopted by herder...Rotational grazing is considered as one of the nature-based solutions(NbS)to grassland protection by natural scientists.However,its effects on improving grassland quality are still unclear when it is adopted by herders.Using a householdlevel panel data from field survey in two main pastoral provinces of China,empirical results from fixed-effect model and instrumental approach show that rotational grazing practices have insignificant short-term effects on grassland quality,but have positive long-term effects.In addition,rotational grazing practices can improve grassland quality when villages invest public infrastructure or herders have private supporting measures for more efficiency livestock production.Further analysis shows that herders adopting rotational grazing have higher grazing intensity,higher supplementary intensity and more livestock-house-feeding days,which indicate herders can utilize more efficient livestock management without increasing pressure on natural grassland.We also find that herders with pastoral income are more likely to adopt rotational grazing practice.These insightful findings offer policy implications on promoting grassroot NbS for ecosystem protection and resource utilization in developing pastoral countries.展开更多
Climate change impacts on grasslands that cover a quarter of the global land area, have become unprecedented during the 21~(st) century. One of the important ecological realms, arid grasslands of northern China, which...Climate change impacts on grasslands that cover a quarter of the global land area, have become unprecedented during the 21~(st) century. One of the important ecological realms, arid grasslands of northern China, which occupy more than 70% of the region's land area. However, the impact of climate change on vegetation growth in these arid grasslands is not consistent and lacks corresponding quantitative research. In this study, NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) and climate factors including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, soil moisture, and meteorological drought were analyzed to explore the determinants of changes in grassland greenness in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(northern China) during 1982–2016. The results showed that grasslands in Inner Mongolia witnessed an obvious trend of seasonal greening during the study period. Two prominent climatic factors,precipitation and soil moisture accounted for approximately 33% and 27% of grassland NDVI trends in the region based on multiple linear regression and boosted regression tree methods. This finding highlights the impact of water constraints to vegetation growth in Inner Mongolia's grasslands. The dominant role of precipitation in regulating grassland NDVI trends in Inner Mongolia significantly weakened from 1982 to 1996, and the role of soil moisture strengthened after 1996. Our findings emphasize the enhanced importance of soil moisture in driving vegetation growth in arid grasslands of Inner Mongolia, which should be thoroughly investigated in the future.展开更多
Information is limited on the potential of double-cropping cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the semiarid region of the southern United States. Using the Decision Support System for Agr...Information is limited on the potential of double-cropping cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the semiarid region of the southern United States. Using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model and weather data of 80 years, we assessed the possibility of cowpea-wheat double-cropping in this region for grain purpose as affected by planting date and N application rate. Results showed that the possibility of double-cropping varied from 0% to 65%, depending on the cropping system. The possibility was less with systems comprising earlier planting dates of wheat and later planting dates of cowpea. Results indicated that cowpea-wheat double-cropping could be beneficial only when no N was applied, with wheat planted on October 15 or later. At zero N, the double-crops of cowpea planted on July 15 and wheat planted on November 30 were the most beneficial of all the 72 double-cropping systems studied. With a delay in planting cowpea, the percentage of beneficial double-cropping systems decreased. At N rates other than zero, fallow-wheat monocropping systems were more beneficial than cowpea-wheat double-cropping systems, and the benefit was greater at a higher N rate. At 100 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup>, the monocrop of wheat planted on October 15 was the most beneficial of all the 94 systems studied. Results further showed that fallow-wheat yields increased almost linearly with an increase in N rate from 0 to 100 kg∙ha<sup>-1</sup>. Fallow-wheat grain yields were quadratically associated with planting dates. With an increase in N rate, wheat yields reached the peak with an earlier planting date. Wheat yields produced under monocropping systems were greater than those produced under double-cropping systems for any cowpea planting date. Cowpea yields produced under monocropping systems were greater than those produced under any double-cropping system. The relationship between cowpea grain yields and planting dates was quadratic, with July 1 planting date associated with the maximum yields.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2014CB138806)the Natural Science Fund Project of Inner Mongolia(2015ZD02)+2 种基金the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China(2013DFR30760)the National Scientific and Technical Support Program of China(2012BAD12B02)the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest(201303060)
文摘Mowing is an important land management practice for natural semi-arid regions. A growing body of empirical evidence shows that different mowing regimes affect the functioning of grassland ecosystems. However, the responses of plant functional traits to long-term mowing and their allometric scaling under long-term mowing are poorly understood. For a better understanding of the effects of mowing on grassland ecosystems, we analyzed the allometric traits of leaves and stems of Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel., a dominant grass species in eastern Eurasian temperate grassland, at different mowing intensities (no clipping, clipping once every two years, once a year and twice a year). Experiments were conducted on plots established over a decade ago in a typical steppe of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China. Results showed that most of the functional traits of L. chinensis decreased with the increased mowing intensity. The responses of leaves and stems to long-term mowing were asymmetric, in which leaf traits were more stable than stem traits. Also significant allometric relationships were found among most of the plant functional traits under the four mowing treatments. Sensitive traits of L. chinensis (e.g. leaf length and stem length) were primary indicators associated with aboveground biomass decline under high mowing intensity. In conclusion, the allometric growth of different functional traits of L. chinensis varies with different long-term mowing practices, which is likely to be a strategy used by the plant to adapt to the mowing disturbances.
基金Under the auspices of Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDA05060103)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41105117)State Key Laboratory of Forest and Soil Ecology(No.LFSE2013-06)
文摘The semi-arid grasslands in Inner Mongolia, China have been degraded by long-term grazing. A series of ecological restoration strategies have been implemented to improve grassland service. However, little is known about the effect of these ecological restoration practices on soil carbon and nitrogen storage. In this study, characteristics of vegetation and soil properties under continued grazing and exclusion of livestock for six years due to a nationwide conservation program—′Returning Grazing Lands to Grasslands(RGLG)′ were examined in semi-arid Hulun Buir grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. The results show that removal of grazing for six years resulted in a significant recovery in vegetation with higher above and below-ground biomass, but a lower soil bulk density and pH value. After six years of grazing exclusion, soil organic C and total N storage increased by 13.9% and 17.1%, respectively, which could be partly explained by decreased loss and increased input of C and N to soil. The effects of grazing exclusion on soil C and N concentration and storage primarily occurred in the upper soil depths. The results indicate that removal of grazing pressure within the RGLG program was an effective restoration approach to control grassland degradation in this region. However, more comprehensive studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the RGLG program and to improve the management strategies for grassland restoration in this area.
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500703)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572452, 41573063, 31870438)
文摘The aboveground primary production is a major source of carbon(C) and nitrogen(N) pool and plays an important role in regulating the response of ecosystem and nutrient cycling to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. To explore the mechanisms underlying the effect of spring fire and topography on the aboveground biomass(AGB) and the soil C and N pool, we conducted a field experiment between April 2014 and August 2016 in a semi-arid grassland of northern China to examine the effects of slope and spring fire, and their potential interactions on the AGB and organic C and total N contents in different plant functional groups(C_3 grasses, C_4 grasses, forbs, Artemisia frigida plants, total grasses and total plants).The dynamics of AGB and the contents of organic C and N in the plants were examined in the burned and unburned plots on different slope positions(upper and lower). There were differences in the total AGB of all plants between the two slope positions. The AGB of grasses was higher on the lower slope than on the upper slope in July. On the lower slope, spring fire marginally or significantly increased the AGB of C_3 grasses, forbs, total grasses and total plants in June and August, but decreased the AGB of C_4 grasses and A.frigida plants from June to August. On the upper slope, however, spring fire significantly increased the AGB of forbs in June, the AGB of C_3 grasses and total grasses in July, and the AGB of forbs and C_4 grasses in August. Spring fire exhibited no significant effect on the total AGB of all plants on the lower and upper slopes in 2014 and 2015. In 2016, the total AGB in the burned plots showed a decreasing trend after fire burning compared with the unburned plots. The different plant functional groups had different responses to slope positions in terms of organic C and N contents in the plants. The lower and upper slopes differed with respect to the organic C and N contents of C_3 grasses, C_4 grasses, total grasses, forbs, A. frigida plants and total plants in different growing months. Slope position and spring fire significantly interacted to affect the AGB and organic C and N contents of C_4 grasses and A. frigida plants. We observed the AGB and organic C and N contents in the plants in a temporal synchronized pattern. Spring fire affected the functional AGB on different slope positions, likely by altering the organic C and N contents and, therefore,it is an important process for C and N cycling in the semi-arid natural grasslands. The findings of this study would facilitate the simulation of ecosystem C and N cycling in the semi-arid grasslands in northern China.
基金financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0210101, 2014CB954202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41425007)
文摘Due to increasing global demand for crop production and energy use, more and more reactive nitrogen(Nr) has been generated and emitted to the environment. As a result, global atmospheric nitrogen(N) deposition has tripled since the industrial revolution and the ecological environment and human health have been harmed. In this study, we measured dry and wet/bulk N deposition from July 2013 to December 2015 in a semi-arid grassland of Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China. The samples of dry and wet/bulk N deposition were collected monthly with a DELTA(DEnuder for Long Term Atmospheric sampling) system and with Gradko passive samplers and a precipitation gauge. The measured results show that the annual mean concentrations of NH_3, NO_2, HNO_3, particulate NH_4~+(pNH_4~+) and particulate NO_3^-(pNO_3^-) in atmosphere were 2.33, 1.90, 0.18, 1.42 and 0.42 μg N/m3, respectively, and that the annual mean volume-weighted concentrations of NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N in precipitation were 2.71 and 1.99 mg N/L, respectively. The concentrations of Nr components(including NH_3, NO_2, HNO_3, p NH_4~+, pNO_3^-, NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N) exhibited different seasonal variations. Specifically, NO_2 and HNO_3 exhibited higher concentrations in autumn than in summer, while the other Nr components(NH_3, pNH_4~+, pNO_3^-, NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N) showed the highest values in summer. Based on measured concentrations of Nr components and their deposition velocities estimated using the GEOS-Chem global atmospheric chemical transport model, the calculated annual mean dry deposition fluxes were 3.17, 1.13, 0.63, 0.91 and 0.36 kg N/(hm^2·a) for NH_3, NO_2, HNO_3, p NH_4~+ and pNO_3^-, respectively, and the calculated annual mean wet/bulk deposition fluxes were 5.37 and 3.15 kg N/(hm^2·a) for NH_4~+-N and NO_3^--N, respectively. The estimated annual N deposition(including dry N deposition and wet/bulk N deposition) reached 14.7 kg N/(hm^2·a) in grassland of Duolun County, approaching to the upper limit of the N critical load(10–15 kg N/(hm^2·a)). Dry and wet/bulk deposition fluxes of all Nr components(with an exception of HNO_3) showed similar seasonal variations with the maximum deposition flux in summer and the minimum in winter. Reduced Nr components(e.g., gaseous NH_3 and p NH_4~+ in atmosphere and NH_4~+-N in precipitation) dominated the total N deposition at the sampling site(accounted for 64% of the total N deposition), suggesting that the deposited atmospheric Nr mainly originated from agricultural activities. Considering the projected future increases in crop and livestock production in Inner Mongolia, the ecological and human risks to the negative effects of increased N deposition could be increased if no mitigation measures are taken.
基金Under the auspices of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Science and Technology Achievement Transformation Special Project(No.2020CG0123)the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.XDA26050301-01)。
文摘Grasslands in northern China serve the country as both an ecological barrier and a livestock production base.There,installing enclosures has been becoming the major grassland restoration measure adopted by many local governments.However,the effects of restoration on both ecological and production benefits of grassland remain unclear for implemented grassland restoration policies.Therefore,a representative rangeland in northern China,the Maodeng pasture in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was selected as the study area,and remote sensing monitoring analyses were carried out to quantify the ecological benefits and economic benefits from 2015 to 2021.The results showed that:1) in terms of ecological benefits,the grassland area with a grassland coverage rate of more than 60% accounts for 32.3% of the regional area,and 86.4% of its grassland grew significantly better than the same period in2015,showing a significant improvement in grassland growth.Using the average amount of carbon per unit area as the ecological benefit evaluation index,it increased by 27.1% to 32.48Tg C/yr from 2015 to 2021.2) In terms of economic benefits,both theoretical grass production and livestock carrying capacity increased from 2015 to 2021.Compared to 2015,the theoretical grass production in 2021 increased by 24.8% to 71 900 t.The livestock carrying capacity reached 52 100 sheep units in 2021,nearly 11 000 sheep units more than that in 2015.During the study period,multiple economic indicators(on a per capita basis of permanent residents) for the pastoral area of Xilinhot City to which the Maodeng pasture belongs,have grown steadily.Per capita total income rose from 29 630 yuan(RMB) in2015 to 62 859 yuan(RMB) in 2021.Relying on grassland resources to develop the pastoral ecology also broadens the potential economic development space.Overall,the establishment of the reserve and the experiment of implanting an enclosure policy have had a significant and positive impact on Maodeng pasture’s development from both an ecological and economic perspective.With the support of scientific evidence,enclosure policy can be extended to more than 110 000 km~2 of grasslands in northern China with similar precipitation and temperature conditions,enhancing the productive and ecological potential of grasslands.The above research results will contribute to the scientific formulation of grassland pasture quality improvement plans in northern China.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42271289).
文摘Ecological stability is a core issue in ecological research and holds significant implications forhumanity. The increased frequency and intensity of drought and wet climate events resulting from climatechange pose a major threat to global ecological stability. Variations in stability among different ecosystemshave been confirmed, but it remains unclear whether there are differences in stability within the sameterrestrial vegetation ecosystem under the influence of climate events in different directions and intensities.China's grassland ecosystem includes most grassland types and is a good choice for studying this issue.This study used the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index-12 (SPEI-12) to identify thedirections and intensities of different types of climate events, and based on Normalized DifferenceVegetation Index (NDVI), calculated the resistance and resilience of different grassland types for 30consecutive years from 1990 to 2019 (resistance and resilience are important indicators to measurestability). Based on a traditional regression model, standardized methods were integrated to analyze theimpacts of the intensity and duration of drought and wet events on vegetation stability. The resultsshowed that meadow steppe exhibited the highest stability, while alpine steppe and desert steppe had thelowest overall stability. The stability of typical steppe, alpine meadow, temperate meadow was at anintermediate level. Regarding the impact of the duration and intensity of climate events on vegetationecosystem stability for the same grassland type, the resilience of desert steppe during drought was mainlyaffected by the duration. In contrast, the impact of intensity was not significant. However, alpine steppewas mainly affected by intensity in wet environments, and duration had no significant impact. Ourconclusions can provide decision support for the future grassland ecosystem governance.
基金This study was supported by the Basic Research Business Fee Project of Universities Directly under the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(JY20220108)the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Natural Science Foundation Project(2022LHMS03006)+1 种基金the Inner Mongolia University of Technology Doctoral Research Initiation Fund Project(DC2300001284)the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Natural Science Foundation Project(2021MS03082).
文摘Grassland biomass is an important parameter of grassland ecosystems.The complexity of the grassland canopy vegetation spectrum makes the long-term assessment of grassland growth a challenge.Few studies have explored the original spectral information of typical grasslands in Inner Mongolia and examined the influence of spectral information on aboveground biomass(AGB)estimation.In order to improve the accuracy of vegetation index inversion of grassland AGB,this study combined ground and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)remote sensing technology and screened sensitive bands through ground hyperspectral data transformation and correlation analysis.The narrow band vegetation indices were calculated,and ground and airborne hyperspectral inversion models were established.Finally,the accuracy of the model was verified.The results showed that:(1)The vegetation indices constructed based on the ASD FieldSpec 4 and the UAV were significantly correlated with the dry and fresh weight of AGB.(2)The comparison between measured R^(2) with the prediction R^(2) indicated that the accuracy of the model was the best when using the Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index(SAVI)as the independent variable in the analysis of AGB(fresh weight/dry weight)and four narrow-band vegetation indices.The SAVI vegetation index showed better applicability for biomass monitoring in typical grassland areas of Inner Mongolia.(3)The obtained ground and airborne hyperspectral data with the optimal vegetation index suggested that the dry weight of AGB has the best fitting effect with airborne hyperspectral data,where y=17.962e^(4.672x),the fitting R^(2) was 0.542,the prediction R^(2)was 0.424,and RMSE and REE were 57.03 and 0.65,respectively.Therefore,established vegetation indices by screening sensitive bands through hyperspectral feature analysis can significantly improve the inversion accuracy of typical grassland biomass in Inner Mongolia.Compared with ground monitoring,airborne hyperspectral monitoring better reflects the inversion of actual surface biomass.It provides a reliable modeling framework for grassland AGB monitoring and scientific and technological support for grazing management.
基金the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2006CB500401)
文摘Based on 3 years (2003-05) of the eddy covariance (EC) observations on degraded grassland and cropland surfaces in a semi-arid area of Tongyu (44°25′N, 122°52′E, 184 m a.s.1.), Northeast China, seasonal and annual variations of water, energy and CO2 fluxes have been investigated. The soil moisture in the thin soil layer (at 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20 m) clearly indicates the pronounced annual wet-dry cycle; the annual cycle is divided into the wet (growing season) and dry seasons (non-growing season). During the growing season (from May to September), the sensible and latent heat fluxes showed a linear dependence on the global solar radiation. However, in the non-growing season, the latent heat flux was always less than 50 W m^-2, while the available energy was dissipated as sensible, rather than latent heat flux. During the growing season in 2003-05, the daily average sensible and latent heat fluxes were larger on the cropland surface than on the degraded grassland surface. The cropland ecosystem absorbed more CO2 than the degraded grassland ecosystem in the growing season in 2003-05. The total evapotranspiration on the cropland was more than the total precipitation, while the total evapotranspiration on the degraded grassland was almost the same as the total annual precipitation in the growing season. The soil moisture had a good correlation with the rainfall in the growing season. Precipitation in the growing season is an important factor on the water and carbon budget in the semi-arid area.
基金This work was supported primarily by the State Key Research Development Program of China(No.2016YFC0501101),(No.2016YFC0503603).
文摘Ecological restoration measures implemented in China have profoundly impacted vegetation NPP.This study aimed to estimate the effects of the land conversion and management measures on the grassland ecosystem in semi-arid regions.Land use data were employed from 2000 to 2015 to compare land conversion and coverage changes in Xilingol grassland.Then,the contributions of land conversion and management policies were quantified by assessing the difference between actual NPP and climate-induced NPP changes.The results indicated that the grassland area had a net loss of 534.42 km^(2),and the net area of increased vegetation coverage was 74,683.05 km^(2).Furthermore,the total NPP increased by 8,010.73 Gg C·yr^(−1)(1 Gg=10^(9)g),of which the human activities,including grazing management measures(+6,809.40 Gg C·yr^(−1))and land conversion(45.72 Gg C·yr^(−1))contributed to 85.58%of the increase in NPP.Transformation from desert and farmland dominated grassland expansion and NPP increase,while urbanization and desertification caused large grassland reduction and NPP loss.The grazing management increased vegetation NPP in most regions except for some regions in the desert steppe and the farming-pastoral zone.Related policies should be further adjusted to strengthen the management of the desert steppe and farming-pastoral regions.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41271318)the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture of China(Y20160022)
文摘Climate change is predicted to alter global precipitation regimes.However,the response of soil carbon and nitrogen cycles and soil microorganisms to precipitation reduction is poorly understood but is dependent on ecosystem type.To evaluate the impacts of reduced precipitation on soil respiration,soil inorganic nitrogen(i.e.,NH4^+–N and NO3^-–N),nitrogen mineralization,and soil microbial community composition,a precipitation manipulation experiment was initiated in a Mongolian pine plantation and a naturally restored grassland in semi-arid northeast China.Precipitation reduction led to decreases of soil respiration rates by 14 and 8%in 2014 and 2015 in the Mongolian pine plantation but no changes in the grassland.Soil inorganic nitrogen,ammonification and nitrification rate,and soil phospholipids fatty acids were not significantly changed by reduced precipitation but significantly differed between the two ecosystems and among growing seasons.Our results suggest that the impacts of precipitation reduction on soil respiration were different between the Mongolian pine plantation and the grassland,and that ecosystem type and growing season had more pronounced impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles.
基金Partly supported by Postdoctoral Foundation of China (No.24) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 39900084)
文摘Soil erosion can cause considerable effect on global natural resources and eco-environment. In the paper, the CENTURY model has been used to simulate soil erosion in Xilin Gol Grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results showed before the 1960s, the soil erosion amount was over 2 kg /m2.a in grassland ecosystem in the study area because no trees had been planted. But after the 1960s the mean annual accumulator C lost from soil organic matter due to soil erosion was only 0.3 kg /m2.a in forest ecosystem. So afforestation has exerted notable effect on decreasing soil erosion amount in Xilin Gol Grassland.
基金Supported by Spark Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology(2015GA840007)National Forage Industry Technology System Fund Project of the Ministry of Agriculture for Tibet Experiment Station(CARS-35)National Nonprofit Industry Research Project(201203006)
文摘Construction of artificial grassland is a key factor to solve the shortage of grass and forage balance in cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau,and it is the key measure to ensure the sustainable development of grassland animal husbandry in this area. At present,the artificial grassland construction is neither reasonable nor scientific,which restricts the healthy and rapid development of artificial grassland in the cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau. In this research,with Naqu Area in Tibet as a case,problems and current status in construction process of artificial grassland are analyzed in cold and semi-arid areas of high plateau. Suitable artificial forage species in Nagqu are elaborated,and recommendations for the construction and development of artificial grassland are discussed.
基金supported by the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System(CARS-02-16 and CARS-02-75)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFD0300301)。
文摘Planting under plastic-film mulches is widely used in spring maize production in arid-cold regions for water conservation and warming the soil.To ameliorate the associated issues such as plastic-film residues and additional labor during the“seedling release”in spring maize production,we have developed a plastic-film-side seeding(PSS)technology with the supporting machinery.In the semi-arid regions of Northwest China,a 7-year trial demonstrated that PSS increased plant number per hectare by 6547 and maize yield by 1686 kg ha–1compared with the traditional method of seeding under plastic-film mulch(PM).Two-year experiments were conducted in two semi-arid regions to further understand the effects of PSS on three important aspects of production:(i)the moisture and temperature of soil,(ii)maize development,yield output,and water use efficiency(WUE),and(iii)the revenue and plastic-film residuals in comparison with that of flat planting(CK)and PM.Continuous monitoring of the soil status demonstrated that,compared with CK,the PSS treatment significantly increased the temperature and moisture of the 0–20 cm soil in the seeding row at the early stage of maize development,and it also promoted grain yield(at 884–1089 kg ha^(–1))and WUE,achieving a similar effect as the PM treatment.Economically,the labor inputs of PSS were equal to CK,whereas the PM cost an additional 960 CNY ha–1in labor for releasing the seedlings from below the film.Overall,the PSS system increased profits by 5.83%(547 CNY ha^(–1)yr^(–1))and 8.16%(748 CNY ha^(–1)yr^(–1))compared with CK and PM,respectively.Environmentally,PSS achieved a residual film recovery rate of nearly 100%and eliminated 96 to 130 kg ha^(–1)of residual plastic-film in PM in 3–5 years of maize production.Collectively,these results show that PSS is an eco-friendly technique for improving yield stability and incomes for the sustainable production of maize in semi-arid regions.
基金supported by the Major Special Research projects in Gansu Province, China (22ZD6NA009)the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFD1900300)+4 种基金the State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, China (GSCS-2022-Z02)the Fostering Foundation for the Excellent Ph.D. Dissertation of Gansu Agricultural University, China (YB2020002)the Innovation Star Project for Excellent Graduate Student of Department of Education of Gansu Province, China (2021CXZX-369)the Young Instructor Fund Project of Gansu Agricultural University, China (GAU-QDFC-2020-03)the Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province, China (20JR5RA033)。
文摘The fully mulched ridge–furrow(FMRF) system has been widely used on the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China due to its high maize(Zea mays L.) productivity and rainfall use efficiency. However, high outputs under this system led to a depletion of soil moisture and soil nutrients, which reduces its sustainability in the long run. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the system for the sustainable development of agriculture. The development, yield-increasing mechanisms,negative impacts, optimization, and their relations in the FMRF system are reviewed in this paper. We suggest using grain and forage maize varieties instead of regular maize;mulching plastic film in autumn or leaving the mulch after maize harvesting until the next spring, and then removing the old film and mulching new film;combining reduced/notillage with straw return;utilizing crop rotation or intercropping with winter canola(Brassica campestris L.), millet(Setaria italica), or oilseed flax(Linum usitatissimum L.);reducing nitrogen fertilizer and partially replacing chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer;using biodegradable or weather-resistant film;and implementing mechanized production. These integrations help to establish an environmentally friendly, high quality, and sustainable agricultural system, promote highquality development of dryland farming, and create new opportunities for agricultural development in the semi-arid Loess Plateau.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52279017 and 52079063)Technological Achievements of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China(2020CG0054 and 2022YFDZ0050)+1 种基金the Graduate Education Innovation Program of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China(B20210188Z)the Program for Innovative Research Team in Universities of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region,China(NMGIRT2313).
文摘In grassland ecosystems,the aerodynamic roughness(Z0)and frictional wind speed(u*)contribute to the aerodynamic impedance of the grassland canopy.Thus,they are often used in the studies of wind erosion and evapotranspiration.However,the effect of wind speed and grazing measures on the aerodynamic impedance of the grassland canopy has received less analysis.In this study,we monitored wind speeds at multiple heights in grazed and grazing-prohibited grasslands for 1 month in 2021,determined the transit wind speed at 2.0 m height by comparing wind speed differences at the same height in both grasslands,and divided these transit wind speeds at intervals of 2.0 m/s to analyze the effect of the transit wind speed on the relationship among Z0,u*,and wind speed within the grassland canopy.The results showed that dividing the transit wind speeds into intervals has a positive effect on the logarithmic fit of the wind speed profile.After dividing the transit wind speeds into intervals,the wind speed at 0.1 m height(V0.1)gradually decreased with the increase of Z0,exhibiting three distinct stages:a sharp change zone,a steady change zone,and a flat zone;while the overall trend of u*increased first and then decreased with the increase of V0.1.Dividing the transit wind speeds into intervals improved the fitting relationship between Z0 and V0.1 and changed their fitting functions in grazed and grazing-prohibited grasslands.According to the computational fluid dynamic results,we found that the number of tall-stature plants has a more significant effect on windproof capacity than their height.The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between wind speed and the aerodynamic impedance of vegetation in grassland environments.
文摘Anticipating global change impact on natural vegetation,especially in poorly researched systems,requires an understanding of the environmental factors that most strongly influence the organisation of plant communities at different scales.The environmental relations of plant communities in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa remain poorly researched.This study investigated the influence of selected environmental determinants on the dominant species of plant community organisation in this area.In order to provide an overview of the influence of the environment on botanical composition and plant diversity,this study,conducted as four discrete exercises,investigated the interplay of altitude,aspect and slope on the abundance of selected species,and to examine the influence of latitude,geological substrate and local topography on species composition.Plant diversity showed no pattern of response to investigated environmental variables.Species composition was related to temperature and solarradiation variables.High altitude sites facing east were distinct for non-graminoid species.Altitude and latitude exerted a pronounced effect on species composition,confounded by longitude and precipitation gradients.Geological substrate,in concert with slope steepness and orientation,influenced composition,restricting the abundance but not distribution of some grasses.Highly individualistic responses were found for C_3,C_4,and non-graminoid species in relation to altitude,slope and aspect.Slope and aspect mediate the effects of altitude and hence temperature for some species.This study has demonstrated the complexity of drivers influencing species and compositional distribution in the Drakensberg and permits a preliminary consideration of potential changes in the composition and dominance structure of mid-elevation grasslands in response to climate change.The dominant grass species were widespread across environmental gradients,occupying currently warm,cool,moist and dry habitats.Hence,we predict that these midelevation C_4 grasslands will persist in the face of current patterns of climate change provided they are not unduly impacted by other global change threats such as altered fire regimes and nutrient deposition.This prediction is,however,unlikely to apply to the herbaceous dicotyledons and non-graminoid monocotyledons,a component which contributes 78%towards species richness.This study could not make a critical assessment of the non-graminoid species owing to their low frequency of occurrence and low abundance in our plot-based sampling approach.Further monitoring and a targeted sampling approach is is required in future.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41961036,41901130).
文摘As one of the basic theories of biodiversity conservation,island biogeography has been widely accepted in the past decades.Originally,island biogeography was put forward and applied in oceanic environments.But later on,it was found out that the application was not only limited to oceanic islands,but also in terrestrial environments with relatively isolated conditions.In terms of biodiversity level,island biogeography generally focuses on a small scale,such as species diversity and genetic diversity.The studies of biodiversity on a large-scale based on island biogeography,such as ecosystem and landscape scales,were seldomly conducted.Taking Poyang Lake,the largest fresh water lake in China as case study area,30 grasslands were randomly selected to study whether island biogeography can be applied to grasslands at a landscape level from three island attributes(area,distance and shape),and the most important ecological variable(flooding)in Poyang Lake.The results showed that in general,grasslands have the property of an island,and follow the basic principle of island biogeography.We found the area and flooding duration were the two most important determinants of landscape diversity.There was a significant positive correlation between the grassland area and the landscape diversity,which could be well expressed by logarithmic function model(R2=0.73).There was a negative correlation between flooding duration and landscape diversity,which could be described by an inverse model(R2=0.206).The distance to mainland and the shape of grassland were correlated with landscape diversity,but the fitting result of the models was not as good as expected.The possible reason could be that Poyang Lake is a seasonal lake,the water level varies with hydrological conditions,so that the grasslands are not strongly isolated and their shape is not stable enough required by island biogeography.Furthermore,it indicates that besides area,distance and shape attributes,flooding strongly affects the biodiversity of grassland vegetation,and should not be ignored when applying island biogeography theory to Poyang Lake.This study is expected to be a supplement for island biogeography in terrestrial environments,and the results are expected to benefit for the biodiversity conservation in Poyang Lake.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(72173004 and 71773003)the Major Consulting Project of Chinese Academy of Engineering(2022-HZ-09)。
文摘Rotational grazing is considered as one of the nature-based solutions(NbS)to grassland protection by natural scientists.However,its effects on improving grassland quality are still unclear when it is adopted by herders.Using a householdlevel panel data from field survey in two main pastoral provinces of China,empirical results from fixed-effect model and instrumental approach show that rotational grazing practices have insignificant short-term effects on grassland quality,but have positive long-term effects.In addition,rotational grazing practices can improve grassland quality when villages invest public infrastructure or herders have private supporting measures for more efficiency livestock production.Further analysis shows that herders adopting rotational grazing have higher grazing intensity,higher supplementary intensity and more livestock-house-feeding days,which indicate herders can utilize more efficient livestock management without increasing pressure on natural grassland.We also find that herders with pastoral income are more likely to adopt rotational grazing practice.These insightful findings offer policy implications on promoting grassroot NbS for ecosystem protection and resource utilization in developing pastoral countries.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42101295)the Science and Technology Department of Jiangsu (BK20210657)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China (21KJB170003)。
文摘Climate change impacts on grasslands that cover a quarter of the global land area, have become unprecedented during the 21~(st) century. One of the important ecological realms, arid grasslands of northern China, which occupy more than 70% of the region's land area. However, the impact of climate change on vegetation growth in these arid grasslands is not consistent and lacks corresponding quantitative research. In this study, NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) and climate factors including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, soil moisture, and meteorological drought were analyzed to explore the determinants of changes in grassland greenness in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region(northern China) during 1982–2016. The results showed that grasslands in Inner Mongolia witnessed an obvious trend of seasonal greening during the study period. Two prominent climatic factors,precipitation and soil moisture accounted for approximately 33% and 27% of grassland NDVI trends in the region based on multiple linear regression and boosted regression tree methods. This finding highlights the impact of water constraints to vegetation growth in Inner Mongolia's grasslands. The dominant role of precipitation in regulating grassland NDVI trends in Inner Mongolia significantly weakened from 1982 to 1996, and the role of soil moisture strengthened after 1996. Our findings emphasize the enhanced importance of soil moisture in driving vegetation growth in arid grasslands of Inner Mongolia, which should be thoroughly investigated in the future.
文摘Information is limited on the potential of double-cropping cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the semiarid region of the southern United States. Using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) crop model and weather data of 80 years, we assessed the possibility of cowpea-wheat double-cropping in this region for grain purpose as affected by planting date and N application rate. Results showed that the possibility of double-cropping varied from 0% to 65%, depending on the cropping system. The possibility was less with systems comprising earlier planting dates of wheat and later planting dates of cowpea. Results indicated that cowpea-wheat double-cropping could be beneficial only when no N was applied, with wheat planted on October 15 or later. At zero N, the double-crops of cowpea planted on July 15 and wheat planted on November 30 were the most beneficial of all the 72 double-cropping systems studied. With a delay in planting cowpea, the percentage of beneficial double-cropping systems decreased. At N rates other than zero, fallow-wheat monocropping systems were more beneficial than cowpea-wheat double-cropping systems, and the benefit was greater at a higher N rate. At 100 kg N ha<sup>-1</sup>, the monocrop of wheat planted on October 15 was the most beneficial of all the 94 systems studied. Results further showed that fallow-wheat yields increased almost linearly with an increase in N rate from 0 to 100 kg∙ha<sup>-1</sup>. Fallow-wheat grain yields were quadratically associated with planting dates. With an increase in N rate, wheat yields reached the peak with an earlier planting date. Wheat yields produced under monocropping systems were greater than those produced under double-cropping systems for any cowpea planting date. Cowpea yields produced under monocropping systems were greater than those produced under any double-cropping system. The relationship between cowpea grain yields and planting dates was quadratic, with July 1 planting date associated with the maximum yields.