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Wang Y, Liu Y, Chen P, Song J, Fu B. Interannual precipitation variability dominates the growth of alpine grassland above-ground biomass at high elevations on the Tibetan Plateau. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 931:172745. [PMID: 38677425 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
The impact of global climate change on mountainous regions with significant elevational gaps is complex and often unpredictable. In particular, alpine grassland ecosystems, are experiencing changes in their spatial patterns along elevational gradients, which increases their vulnerability to degradation. Therefore, a more detailed understanding of spatiotemporal changes in alpine grassland productivity along elevational gradients and an elevation-dependent characterization of the effects of climatic variables on grassland productivity dynamics are essential. Thus, we conducted a study in the Tibetan Plateau, where we collected 2251 above-ground biomass (AGB) observations collected from 1986 to 2020. Mean annual temperature (TMP), annual precipitation (PRE), interannual precipitation variability (CVP), and snowmelt (SNMM) were chosen as influential variables. Using the Random Forest algorithm, we generated an AGB raster dataset covering the period 1989-2020 based on earth observation data at 30 m resolution to examine the dynamics of alpine grasslands and their response to climate change with respect to elevation. The results showed that the AGB of alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau was 49.17 g/m2. We observed an increasing trend in grassland AGB at high elevations, with a growth rate of about 0.28 g/m2 per year within the interval of 3100-4800 m. However, above the elevation of approximately 4400-4600 m, we observed a decoupling trend between grassland AGB and TMP. Moreover, at most elevations, the proportion of maximum partial correlation coefficients for CVP, PRE, and SNMM surpassed that of TMP. We found the dominant role of precipitation variability on grassland AGB dynamics, with 22.80 % and 18.86 % for CVP+ and CVP-, respectively. The proportion of CVP+ did not vary much at different elevations, whereas the proportion of CVP- increased with elevation, varying between 12.85 and 30.25 %. In the future, precipitation on the Tibetan plateau is expected to increase, potentially reversing its original positive impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijia Wang
- Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster of Ministry of Education, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yanxu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Peng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Jiaxi Song
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Bojie Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
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Sasaki T, Berdugo M, Kinugasa T, Batdelger G, Baasandai E, Eisenhauer N. Aridity-dependent shifts in biodiversity-stability relationships but not in underlying mechanisms. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17365. [PMID: 38864217 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Climate change will affect the way biodiversity influences the stability of plant communities. Although biodiversity, associated species asynchrony, and species stability could enhance community stability, the understanding of potential nonlinear shifts in the biodiversity-stability relationship across a wide range of aridity (measured as the aridity index, the precipitation/potential evapotranspiration ratio) gradients and the underlying mechanisms remain limited. Using an 8-year dataset from 687 sites in Mongolia, which included 5496 records of vegetation and productivity, we found that the temporal stability of plant communities decreased more rapidly in more arid areas than in less arid areas. The result suggests that future aridification across terrestrial ecosystems may adversely affect community stability. Additionally, we identified nonlinear shifts in the effects of species richness and species synchrony on temporal community stability along the aridity gradient. Species synchrony was a primary driver of community stability, which was consistently negatively affected by species richness while being positively affected by the synchrony between C3 and C4 species across the aridity gradient. These results highlight the crucial role of C4 species in stabilizing communities through differential responses to interannual climate variations between C3 and C4 species. Notably, species richness and the synchrony between C3 and C4 species independently regulated species synchrony, ultimately affecting community stability. We propose that maintaining plant communities with a high diversity of C3 and C4 species will be key to enhancing community stability across Mongolian grasslands. Moreover, species synchrony, species stability, species richness and the synchrony between C3 and C4 species across the aridity gradient consistently mediated the impacts of aridity on community stability. Hence, strategies aimed at promoting the maintenance of biological diversity and composition will help ecosystems adapt to climate change or mitigate its adverse effects on ecosystem stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takehiro Sasaki
- Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Environment Systems Science, Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Gantsetseg Batdelger
- Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IRIMHE) of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Erdenetsetseg Baasandai
- Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IRIMHE) of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
| | - Nico Eisenhauer
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan
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Han Y, Wang G, Xiong L, Xu Y, Li S. Rainfall effect on soil respiration depends on antecedent soil moisture. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:172130. [PMID: 38569962 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Climate change has a discernible influence on rainfall patterns, thus potentially affecting the intricate dynamics of soil respiration (Rs) and soil carbon storage. However, we still lack a profound understanding of the determinants of Rs response to rainfall events. Here, utilizing a comprehensive 10-year dataset (2004-2013), we explored the direction and magnitude of Rs response to rainfall events and the underlying determinants in a temperate forest. Based on the identified 368 rainfall events over the study period, we demonstrate that rainfall suppresses Rs when the soil moisture is optimal and moist in the growing season, whereas its effect on Rs during the non-growing season is minimal. Notably, antecedent soil moisture, rather than rainfall amount, shows a substantial impact on Rs during the growing season (coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.37 for antecedent soil moisture, and R2 < 0.01 for rainfall amount). Incorporating antecedent soil moisture significantly enhances the explanatory power (R2) from 0.09 to 0.45 regarding the relative changes in Rs following rainfall events. Our results highlight the environmental dependency of Rs response to rainfall events and suggest that incorporating the role of antecedent soil moisture could enhance predictability and reduce uncertainty in ecosystem modeling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajing Han
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Institute for Water-Carbon Cycles and Carbon Neutrality, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
| | - Gangsheng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Institute for Water-Carbon Cycles and Carbon Neutrality, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
| | - Lihua Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Institute for Water-Carbon Cycles and Carbon Neutrality, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
| | - Ying Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Institute for Water-Carbon Cycles and Carbon Neutrality, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
| | - Shuang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China; Institute for Water-Carbon Cycles and Carbon Neutrality, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
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Zhang L, Shen M, Yang Z, Wang Y, Chen J. Spatial variations in the difference in elevational shifts between greenness and temperature isolines across the Tibetan Plateau grasslands under warming. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167715. [PMID: 37820790 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming has induced widespread isotherm shifts toward higher elevations on the Tibetan Plateau, but elevational shifts of vegetation greenness (indicated by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) do not necessarily keep pace with the isotherm shifts. Thus, there should be spatial variations in the difference between the velocities of vertical movement of greenness isolines (VNDVI) and isotherms (VT) across the Tibetan Plateau grasslands. Using satellite-observed NDVI and gridded climate data during 2000-2017, we found uphill shifts of the isotherms in 81.8 % of the surveyed areas, mainly in the eastern, central, southwestern, and northeastern parts, whereas upward shifts of the greenness isolines were observed only in 49.7 % of these areas, mainly in the southeastern, west-central, and southwestern edge of Tibetan Plateau grasslands. In the areas where both the greenness isolines and isotherms shifted uphill, VDNVI was faster than VT in the west-central and northeastern parts, and VNDVI was smaller than VT in the western, south-central, central, and southeastern regions; the difference between VNDVI and VT was positively related with elevational gradient of NDVI (NDVIEG) in the areas where NDVIEG was negative and the temporal trend of NDVI was positive, and was negatively related with NDVIEG and temporal trends of NDVI and temperature in the areas where NDVIEG was positive and temporal trend of NDVI was negative. Our results revealed spatial heterogeneity in the difference in the elevational shifts between the isotherm and vegetation greenness isoline across the Tibetan Plateau grasslands, which is related with both diverse adaptation to local environment (NDVIEG) and complex responses of vegetation greenness to warming in terms of both direction and magnitude. These findings have important implications for the prediction of vegetation production and carbon cycle and the adaptive management of alpine grasslands under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhang
- Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Miaogen Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Zhiyong Yang
- Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Yafeng Wang
- Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Jin Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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Song Z, Hautier Y, Wang C. Grassland stability decreases with increasing number of global change factors: A meta-analysis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 898:165651. [PMID: 37474043 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Experiments manipulating a single global change factor (GCF) have provided increasing evidence that global environmental changes, such as eutrophication, precipitation change, and warming, generally affect the temporal stability of grassland productivity. Whether the combined impact of global changes on grassland stability increases as the number of global changes increases remains unknown. Using a meta-analysis of 673 observations from 143 sites worldwide, including 7 different GCFs, we examined the responses of grassland temporal stability of productivity to increasing numbers of GCFs. We quantified the links between community stability, biotic factors (i.e., species richness, species stability, and species asynchrony), and abiotic factors (i.e., aridity index, experimental duration, and experimental intensity). Although inconsistent responses of community stability were found with different GCF types and combinations, when integrating existing GCFs studies and ignoring the identity of GCFs, we found a general decrease in community stability as the number of GCFs increases, but the main drivers of community stability varied with the numbers of GCFs. Specifically, one GCF mainly reduced species stability through species richness and thus weakened community stability. Two GCFs weakened community stability via independently weakening species stability and species asynchrony. Three GCFs reduce community stability mainly via independently weakening species asynchrony. Moreover, for single factor, the impact of GCFs on community stability was weaker under dryer conditions, but stronger when two or three factors were manipulated. In addition, the negative effect of GCFs on community stability was weaker with increasing experimental duration. Our study reveals that reduced community stability with increasing numbers of GCFs is caused by a shift from reduced species stability to reduced species asynchrony, suggesting that persistent global changes will destabilize grassland productivity by reducing asynchronous dynamics among species in response to natural environmental fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaobin Song
- Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China; Urat Desert-grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Science, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yann Hautier
- Ecology and Biodiversity Group, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Chao Wang
- Institute of Grassland, Flowers and Ecology, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China.
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Li X, Hou Y, Chu X, Zhao M, Wei S, Song W, Li P, Wang X, Han G. Ambient precipitation determines the sensitivity of soil respiration to precipitation treatments in a marsh. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:2301-2312. [PMID: 36597706 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The effects in field manipulation experiments are strongly influenced by amplified interannual variation in ambient climate as the experimental duration increases. Soil respiration (SR), as an important part of the carbon cycle in terrestrial ecosystems, is sensitive to climate changes such as temperature and precipitation changes. A growing body of evidence has indicated that ambient climate affects the temperature sensitivity of SR, which benchmarks the strength of terrestrial soil carbon-climate feedbacks. However, whether SR sensitivity to precipitation changes is influenced by ambient climate is still not clear. In addition, the mechanism driving the above phenomenon is still poorly understood. Here, a long-term field manipulation experiment with five precipitation treatments (-60%, -40%, +0%, +40%, and +60% of annual precipitation) was conducted in a marsh in the Yellow River Delta, China, which is sensitive to soil drying-wetting cycle caused by precipitation changes. Results showed that SR increased exponentially along the experimental precipitation gradient each year and the sensitivity of SR (standardized by per 100 mm change in precipitation under precipitation treatments) exhibited significant interannual variation from 2016 to 2021. In addition, temperature, net radiation, and ambient precipitation all exhibited dramatic interannual variability; however, only ambient precipitation had a significant negative correlation with SR sensitivity. Moreover, the sensitivity of SR was significantly positively related to the sensitivity of belowground biomass (BGB) across 6 years. Structural equation modeling and regression analysis also showed that precipitation treatments significantly affected SR and its autotrophic and heterotrophic components by altering BGB. Our study demonstrated that ambient precipitation determines the sensitivity of SR to precipitation treatments in marshes. The findings underscore the importance of ambient climate in regulating ecosystem responses in long-term field manipulation experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinge Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Yalin Hou
- College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng, P.R. China
| | - Xiaojing Chu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Mingliang Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Siyu Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Weimin Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Peiguang Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Xiaojie Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
| | - Guangxuan Han
- CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes, Yantai, P.R. China
- The Yellow River Delta Ecological Research Station of Coastal Wetland, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, P.R. China
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Effects of climate change and human activities on net primary production of wetlands on the Zoige Plateau from 1990 to 2015. Glob Ecol Conserv 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
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