The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most fundamental concepts in community ecology and is helpful for biodiversity conservation. However, few studies have systematically addressed this topic for differ...The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most fundamental concepts in community ecology and is helpful for biodiversity conservation. However, few studies have systematically addressed this topic for different alpine grassland types on the Tibetan Plateau, China. We explored whether the plant composition of different functional groups affects the manner in which species richness inereases with increasing area at scales ≤ 1.0 m^2. We also compared species richness (S) within and across forbs, legumes, sedges and grasses, with sampling subplot area (A) increasing from 0.0625 m^2 to 1.0 m^2 between alpine meadow and steppe communities. We applied a logarithmic function (S = b0 + b1 ln A) to determine the slope and intercept of SAR curves within and across functional groups. The results showed that the logarithmic relationship holds true between species richness and sampling area at these small scales. Both the intercept and slope of the logarithmic forbs-area curves are significantly higher than those for the three other functional groups (P 〈 0.05). Forb accounts for about 91.9 % of the variation in the intercept and 75.0% of the variation in the slope of the SAR curve when all functional groups' data were pooled together. Our results indicated that the different SAR patterns should be linked with species dispersal capabilities, environmental filtering, and life form composition within alpine grassland communities. Further studies on the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem functions should specify the differential responses of different functional groups to variations in climate and anthropogenic disturbances.展开更多
Agricultural practices are the main stay of the people of Uttranchal. Out of the total population, more than 75% people are engaged either with the main occupation of agriculture or its allied practices, dominated by ...Agricultural practices are the main stay of the people of Uttranchal. Out of the total population, more than 75% people are engaged either with the main occupation of agriculture or its allied practices, dominated by traditional subsistence cereal farming. Among them, the main crops are rice, wheat, millet, barley, all types of pulses, all types of oilseeds and almost all types of fruits. The crops, vegetables and fruits of all varieties are grown in the different climatic zones such as tropical, temperate, and cold because, the region is characterized by the different altitudinal zones elevated from 200 m to more than 8000m. As a result, different climates are found from hot tropical to sub temperate and chilly cold. Pulses varieties are grown extensively. Among vegetables, potato, onion, carrot, all types of green leaf vegetables, brinzal, pumpkin, ladyfinger, pea, gram, radish, ginger, garlic, etc, are grown widely. All fruit varieties are grown in the different altitudinal zones. The main fruits are orange, malta (a big size of orange), elephant citrus, lemon and all other types of citrus, apple, stone fruits including peach and pears, many kinds of nuts, and the fruits which are grown in the low lying areas. In spite of feasible climatic conditions, agricultural dominant society, and availability of all types of crops, the production and productivity of these crops are very low, even they are unable to meet the grain-need of the people in Uttaranchal. Agricultural crops are grown almost in all the altitudinal zones — from the low-lying areas, which are called ‘Gangarh’, to the highly elevated region, where the legendary term is given as ‘Danda’. The growing seasons vary according to the heights. The present paper aims to discuss the agricultural practices including cropping season, cropping pattern, land use, production of crops and ecological aspect of agricultural system in this Himalayan state and suggest some measures for developing farming system, which could lead the sustainability, in terms of meeting the food grain needs of the people on the one hand and restoring the ecological balance on the other.展开更多
Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain...Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain agriculture of local farmers.Accordingly,these pastures are subject to an increasing utilization pressure reflecting the changing political and social conditions in the transformation process from a Soviet republic to an independent state.A first detailed analysis of mountain pasture vegetation in the Ferghana Range answers the following questions:What are the main plant community types among Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures? What are the main environmental gradients that shape their species composition? Which phytogeographical distribution types are predominant? How does grazing affect community composition and species richness in these grasslands? Species composition was classified by cluster analysis;underlying environmental gradients were explored using DCA.A dataset of 395 relevés was used for classification,and a subset of 79 relevés was used in a DCA to analyze the correlation between vegetation,environment,and grazing impact.The investigated pastures were classified into four distinctive plant communities.The site factors altitude,heat load,inclination and grazing impact were found to be the major determinants of the vegetation pattern.A significant overlap between floristic composition and structural and spatial properties was shown.The majority of the species pool consisted of Middle Asian endemics and Eurosiberian species.However,disturbance-tolerant species played a significant role with respect to species composition and coverage of the herbaceous layer in vast areas of southern Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures.In general,an intense grazing impact is clearly reflected by both species composition and structural variables of plant communities.The highly diverse and unique ecosystem is modified by an increasing utilization pressure.In order to maintain vital processes and functioning of this valuable ecosystem-in both economical and ecological terms-,it is indispensable to adopt appropriate pasture management strategies.展开更多
Alpine ecosystems in permafrost region are extremely sensitive to climate changes.To determine spatial pattern variations in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomass dynamics in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tib...Alpine ecosystems in permafrost region are extremely sensitive to climate changes.To determine spatial pattern variations in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomass dynamics in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China,calibrated with historical datasets of above-ground biomass production within the permafrost region's two main ecosystems,an ecosystem-biomass model was developed by employing empirical spatialdistribution models of the study region's precipitation,air temperature and soil temperature.This model was then successfully used to simulate the spatio-temporal variations in annual alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change.For a 0.44°C decade-1 rise in air temperature,the model predicted that the biomasses of alpine meadow and alpine steppe remained roughly the same if annual precipitation increased by 8 mm per decade-1,but the biomasses were decreased by 2.7% and 2.4%,respectively if precipitation was constant.For a 2.2°C decade-1 rise in air temperature coupled with a 12 mm decade-1 rise in precipitation,the model predicted that the biomass of alpine meadow was unchanged or slightly increased,while that of alpine steppe was increased by 5.2%.However,in the absence of any rise in precipitation,the model predicted 6.8% and 4.6% declines in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomasses,respectively.The response of alpine steppe biomass to the rising air temperatures and precipitation was significantly lesser and greater,respectively than that of alpine meadow biomass.A better understanding of the difference in alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change is greatly significant with respect to the influence of climate change on the carbon and water cycles in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.展开更多
Twenty-eight sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) genotypes of the different ecological and geographic origins: Kazakhstan, Russia, India, Uzbekistan, and China were tested in the high latitude rainfed con...Twenty-eight sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) genotypes of the different ecological and geographic origins: Kazakhstan, Russia, India, Uzbekistan, and China were tested in the high latitude rainfed conditions of northern Kazakhstan. The genotypes demonstrated high biomass production (up to 100 t'ha1 and more). The genotypes ripening to full reproductive seeds were selected for seed production and introduction in the northern Kazakhstan. Lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum S-1, Streptococcus thermophilus F-1 and Lactococcus lactis F-4 essentially enhance the fermentation process, suppressing undesirable microbiological processes, reducing the loss of nutrient compounds, accelerating in 2 times maturation ensilage process and providing higher quality of the feed product.展开更多
The contribution of climatic change and anthropogenic activities to vegetation productivity are not fully understood.In this study,we determined potential climate-driven gross primary production(GPPp)using a process-b...The contribution of climatic change and anthropogenic activities to vegetation productivity are not fully understood.In this study,we determined potential climate-driven gross primary production(GPPp)using a process-based terrestrial ecosystem model,and actual gross primary production(GPPa)using MODIS Approach in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau from 2000 to 2015.The GPPa was influenced by both climatic change and anthropogenic activities.Gross primary production caused by anthropogenic activities(GPPh)was calculated as the difference between GPPp and GPPa.Approximately 75.63%and 24.37%of the area percentages of GPPa showed increasing and decreasing trends,respectively.Climatic change and anthropogenic activities were dominant factors responsible for approximately 42.90%and 32.72%of the increasing area percentage of GPPa,respectively.In contrast,climatic change and anthropogenic activities were responsible for approximately 16.88%and 7.49%of the decreasing area percentages of GPPa,respectively.The absolute values of the change trends of GPPp and GPPh of meadows were greater than those of steppes.The GPPp change values were greater than those of GPPh at all elevations,whereas both GPPp and GPPh showed decreasing trends when elevations were greater than or equal to 5000 m,4600 m and 4800 m in meadows,steppes and all grasslands,respectively.Climatic change had stronger effects on the GPPa changes when elevations were lower than 5000 m,4600 m and 4800 m in meadows,steppes and all grasslands,respectively.In contrast,anthropogenic activities had stronger effects on the GPPa changes when elevations were greater than or equal to 5000 m,4600 m and 4800 m in meadows,steppes and all grasslands,respectively.Therefore,the causes of actual gross primary production changes varied with elevations,regions and grassland types,and grassland classification management should be considered on the Tibetan Plateau.展开更多
基金supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant Nos.XDB03030401,KZCXZ-XB3-08)the State Scholarship Fund of the China Scholarship Council (Grant No.201400260118)the International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program 2014 by the Office of China Postdoctoral Council (Grant No.20140041)
文摘The species-area relationship (SAR) is one of the most fundamental concepts in community ecology and is helpful for biodiversity conservation. However, few studies have systematically addressed this topic for different alpine grassland types on the Tibetan Plateau, China. We explored whether the plant composition of different functional groups affects the manner in which species richness inereases with increasing area at scales ≤ 1.0 m^2. We also compared species richness (S) within and across forbs, legumes, sedges and grasses, with sampling subplot area (A) increasing from 0.0625 m^2 to 1.0 m^2 between alpine meadow and steppe communities. We applied a logarithmic function (S = b0 + b1 ln A) to determine the slope and intercept of SAR curves within and across functional groups. The results showed that the logarithmic relationship holds true between species richness and sampling area at these small scales. Both the intercept and slope of the logarithmic forbs-area curves are significantly higher than those for the three other functional groups (P 〈 0.05). Forb accounts for about 91.9 % of the variation in the intercept and 75.0% of the variation in the slope of the SAR curve when all functional groups' data were pooled together. Our results indicated that the different SAR patterns should be linked with species dispersal capabilities, environmental filtering, and life form composition within alpine grassland communities. Further studies on the relationship between species diversity and ecosystem functions should specify the differential responses of different functional groups to variations in climate and anthropogenic disturbances.
文摘Agricultural practices are the main stay of the people of Uttranchal. Out of the total population, more than 75% people are engaged either with the main occupation of agriculture or its allied practices, dominated by traditional subsistence cereal farming. Among them, the main crops are rice, wheat, millet, barley, all types of pulses, all types of oilseeds and almost all types of fruits. The crops, vegetables and fruits of all varieties are grown in the different climatic zones such as tropical, temperate, and cold because, the region is characterized by the different altitudinal zones elevated from 200 m to more than 8000m. As a result, different climates are found from hot tropical to sub temperate and chilly cold. Pulses varieties are grown extensively. Among vegetables, potato, onion, carrot, all types of green leaf vegetables, brinzal, pumpkin, ladyfinger, pea, gram, radish, ginger, garlic, etc, are grown widely. All fruit varieties are grown in the different altitudinal zones. The main fruits are orange, malta (a big size of orange), elephant citrus, lemon and all other types of citrus, apple, stone fruits including peach and pears, many kinds of nuts, and the fruits which are grown in the low lying areas. In spite of feasible climatic conditions, agricultural dominant society, and availability of all types of crops, the production and productivity of these crops are very low, even they are unable to meet the grain-need of the people in Uttaranchal. Agricultural crops are grown almost in all the altitudinal zones — from the low-lying areas, which are called ‘Gangarh’, to the highly elevated region, where the legendary term is given as ‘Danda’. The growing seasons vary according to the heights. The present paper aims to discuss the agricultural practices including cropping season, cropping pattern, land use, production of crops and ecological aspect of agricultural system in this Himalayan state and suggest some measures for developing farming system, which could lead the sustainability, in terms of meeting the food grain needs of the people on the one hand and restoring the ecological balance on the other.
基金the joint project "The Impact of the Transformation Process on Human-Environmental Interactions in Southern Kyrgyzstan" supported by the Volkswagen Foundation
文摘Vast grasslands are found in the walnut-fruit forest region of southern Kyrgyzstan,Middle Asia.Located above the worldwide unique walnutfruit forests and used for grazing,they play a pivotal role in the mixed mountain agriculture of local farmers.Accordingly,these pastures are subject to an increasing utilization pressure reflecting the changing political and social conditions in the transformation process from a Soviet republic to an independent state.A first detailed analysis of mountain pasture vegetation in the Ferghana Range answers the following questions:What are the main plant community types among Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures? What are the main environmental gradients that shape their species composition? Which phytogeographical distribution types are predominant? How does grazing affect community composition and species richness in these grasslands? Species composition was classified by cluster analysis;underlying environmental gradients were explored using DCA.A dataset of 395 relevés was used for classification,and a subset of 79 relevés was used in a DCA to analyze the correlation between vegetation,environment,and grazing impact.The investigated pastures were classified into four distinctive plant communities.The site factors altitude,heat load,inclination and grazing impact were found to be the major determinants of the vegetation pattern.A significant overlap between floristic composition and structural and spatial properties was shown.The majority of the species pool consisted of Middle Asian endemics and Eurosiberian species.However,disturbance-tolerant species played a significant role with respect to species composition and coverage of the herbaceous layer in vast areas of southern Kyrgyzstan's mountain pastures.In general,an intense grazing impact is clearly reflected by both species composition and structural variables of plant communities.The highly diverse and unique ecosystem is modified by an increasing utilization pressure.In order to maintain vital processes and functioning of this valuable ecosystem-in both economical and ecological terms-,it is indispensable to adopt appropriate pasture management strategies.
基金funded by the National Basic Research Program (also called 973 Program) (Grant No.2007CB411504)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.40925002 and No.40730634)
文摘Alpine ecosystems in permafrost region are extremely sensitive to climate changes.To determine spatial pattern variations in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomass dynamics in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China,calibrated with historical datasets of above-ground biomass production within the permafrost region's two main ecosystems,an ecosystem-biomass model was developed by employing empirical spatialdistribution models of the study region's precipitation,air temperature and soil temperature.This model was then successfully used to simulate the spatio-temporal variations in annual alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change.For a 0.44°C decade-1 rise in air temperature,the model predicted that the biomasses of alpine meadow and alpine steppe remained roughly the same if annual precipitation increased by 8 mm per decade-1,but the biomasses were decreased by 2.7% and 2.4%,respectively if precipitation was constant.For a 2.2°C decade-1 rise in air temperature coupled with a 12 mm decade-1 rise in precipitation,the model predicted that the biomass of alpine meadow was unchanged or slightly increased,while that of alpine steppe was increased by 5.2%.However,in the absence of any rise in precipitation,the model predicted 6.8% and 4.6% declines in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomasses,respectively.The response of alpine steppe biomass to the rising air temperatures and precipitation was significantly lesser and greater,respectively than that of alpine meadow biomass.A better understanding of the difference in alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change is greatly significant with respect to the influence of climate change on the carbon and water cycles in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
文摘Twenty-eight sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) genotypes of the different ecological and geographic origins: Kazakhstan, Russia, India, Uzbekistan, and China were tested in the high latitude rainfed conditions of northern Kazakhstan. The genotypes demonstrated high biomass production (up to 100 t'ha1 and more). The genotypes ripening to full reproductive seeds were selected for seed production and introduction in the northern Kazakhstan. Lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus plantarum S-1, Streptococcus thermophilus F-1 and Lactococcus lactis F-4 essentially enhance the fermentation process, suppressing undesirable microbiological processes, reducing the loss of nutrient compounds, accelerating in 2 times maturation ensilage process and providing higher quality of the feed product.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(31600432)National Key Research Projects of China(2017YFA0604801,2016YFC0502005)+1 种基金Bingwei Outstanding Young Talents Program of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences(2018RC202)Tibet Science and Technology Major Projects of the Pratacultural Industry(XZ201901NA03)
文摘The contribution of climatic change and anthropogenic activities to vegetation productivity are not fully understood.In this study,we determined potential climate-driven gross primary production(GPPp)using a process-based terrestrial ecosystem model,and actual gross primary production(GPPa)using MODIS Approach in alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau from 2000 to 2015.The GPPa was influenced by both climatic change and anthropogenic activities.Gross primary production caused by anthropogenic activities(GPPh)was calculated as the difference between GPPp and GPPa.Approximately 75.63%and 24.37%of the area percentages of GPPa showed increasing and decreasing trends,respectively.Climatic change and anthropogenic activities were dominant factors responsible for approximately 42.90%and 32.72%of the increasing area percentage of GPPa,respectively.In contrast,climatic change and anthropogenic activities were responsible for approximately 16.88%and 7.49%of the decreasing area percentages of GPPa,respectively.The absolute values of the change trends of GPPp and GPPh of meadows were greater than those of steppes.The GPPp change values were greater than those of GPPh at all elevations,whereas both GPPp and GPPh showed decreasing trends when elevations were greater than or equal to 5000 m,4600 m and 4800 m in meadows,steppes and all grasslands,respectively.Climatic change had stronger effects on the GPPa changes when elevations were lower than 5000 m,4600 m and 4800 m in meadows,steppes and all grasslands,respectively.In contrast,anthropogenic activities had stronger effects on the GPPa changes when elevations were greater than or equal to 5000 m,4600 m and 4800 m in meadows,steppes and all grasslands,respectively.Therefore,the causes of actual gross primary production changes varied with elevations,regions and grassland types,and grassland classification management should be considered on the Tibetan Plateau.