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Sun Y, Yuan Y, Luo Y, Ji W, Bian Q, Zhu Z, Wang J, Qin Y, He XZ, Li M, Yi S. An Improved Method for Monitoring Multiscale Plant Species Diversity of Alpine Grassland Using UAV: A Case Study in the Source Region of the Yellow River, China. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:905715. [PMID: 35755669 PMCID: PMC9218072 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.905715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Plant species diversity (PSD) is essential in evaluating the function and developing the management and conservation strategies of grassland. However, over a large region, an efficient and high precision method to monitor multiscale PSD (α-, β-, and γ-diversity) is lacking. In this study, we proposed and improved an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based PSD monitoring method (UAVB) and tested the feasibility, and meanwhile, explored the potential relationship between multiscale PSD and precipitation on the alpine grassland of the source region of the Yellow River (SRYR), China. Our findings showed that: (1) UAVB was more representative (larger monitoring areas and more species identified with higher α- and γ-diversity) than the traditional ground-based monitoring method, though a few specific species (small in size) were difficult to identify; (2) UAVB is suitable for monitoring the multiscale PSD over a large region (the SRYR in this study), and the improvement by weighing the dominance of species improved the precision of α-diversity (higher R 2 and lower P values of the linear regressions); and (3) the species diversity indices (α- and β-diversity) increased first and then they tended to be stable with the increase of precipitation in SRYR. These findings conclude that UAVB is suitable for monitoring multiscale PSD of an alpine grassland community over a large region, which will be useful for revealing the relationship of diversity-function, and helpful for conservation and sustainable management of the alpine grassland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Sun
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Yaxin Yuan
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Yifei Luo
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Wenxiang Ji
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Qingyao Bian
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Zequn Zhu
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Jingru Wang
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Yu Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
| | - Xiong Zhao He
- School of Agriculture and Environment, College of Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
| | - Meng Li
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Shuhua Yi
- School of Geographic Science, Institute of Fragile Eco-Environment, Nantong University, Nantong, China
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Qin Y, Huang B, Zhang W, Yu Y, Yi S, Sun Y. Pikas burrowing activity promotes vegetation species diversity in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
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Qian D, Li Q, Fan B, Lan Y, Cao G. Characterization of the spatial distribution of plateau pika burrows along an alpine grassland degradation gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:14905-14915. [PMID: 34765149 PMCID: PMC8571594 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Revised: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Plateau pika burrows are common feature of degraded grassland in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and serve as an important indicator of pika activity and grassland degradation. However, the current understanding of the spatial pattern changes of pika burrows and their critical thresholds across a degradation gradient in alpine grassland is deficient. In this study, we investigated and quantified changes in the spatial pattern of plateau pika burrows under typical degraded alpine shrub meadows in the northeastern QTP using an unmanned aerial vehicle and landscape pattern metrics. The degradation of the alpine shrub meadow leads to a change in landscape pattern from a two-layered structure of alpine shrub and alpine meadow to a mosaic of alpine meadow and bare soil, with plateau pika burrows scattered throughout. Moderate degradation is the tipping point for changes in surface landscape patterns, followed by the disappearance of alpine shrub, the retreat of alpine meadows and the encroachment of bare soil, and the increasing density and size of pika burrows. The area characteristics of alpine meadows have influenced changes in the spatial pattern of pika burrow, and maintaining its proportional area is a vital measure to control the threat of pika burrows to pastures. The results of this paper provide a methodological reference and guidance for the sustainable utilization of grassland on the QTP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawen Qian
- Key Laboratory of Cold Regions Restoration EcologyQinghai ProvinceNorthwest Institute of Plateau BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesXiningChina
| | - Qian Li
- Key Laboratory of Cold Regions Restoration EcologyQinghai ProvinceNorthwest Institute of Plateau BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesXiningChina
| | - Bo Fan
- Key Laboratory of Cold Regions Restoration EcologyQinghai ProvinceNorthwest Institute of Plateau BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesXiningChina
| | - Yuting Lan
- Key Laboratory of Cold Regions Restoration EcologyQinghai ProvinceNorthwest Institute of Plateau BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesXiningChina
| | - Guangmin Cao
- Key Laboratory of Cold Regions Restoration EcologyQinghai ProvinceNorthwest Institute of Plateau BiologyChinese Academy of SciencesXiningChina
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Wei T, Shangguan D, Yi S, Ding Y. Characteristics and controls of vegetation and diversity changes monitored with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the foreland of the Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Tianshan, China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 771:145433. [PMID: 33736172 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2020] [Revised: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Exposed surfaces following glacial retreat are ideal field laboratories for studying primary vegetation succession. Many related studies based on ground sampling methods have been performed worldwide in proglacial zones, but studies on species diversity and vegetation succession using aerial photography have been rare. In this study, we investigated soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), plant species diversity, and fractional vegetation cover (FVC) along a chronosequence within the foreland of Urumqi Glacier No. 1 by combining field sampling and aerial photography. We then analysed soil development and vegetation succession along distance (distance from glacier terminus) and time (terrain age) gradients as well as the relationships between topographic and environmental variables (aspect, slope, SOC, and TN), distance, time, and species distributions. The results indicated that: (1) plant diversity and FVC showed increasing trends with increases in distance and terrain age, whereas soil nutrient content varied nonlinearly; (2) Silene gonosperma, Leontopodium leontopodioides, and Saussurea gnaphalodes were the dominant species in the early, transient, and later succession stages, respectively. Cancrinia chrysocephala occurred in all stages and had a high abundance in the early and later stages; and (3) the relationships of FVC with soil nutrient content were nonlinear. Moreover, distance and site age played important roles in species distribution. These findings confirm that distance and terrain age positively affect vegetation succession. The increase in FVC facilitated the accumulation of soil nutrition, but this trend was affected by the rapid growth of plants. Caryophyllaceae and Asteraceae were the most common plants during the succession stages, and the former tended to colonise in the early succession stage. We conclude that the UAV-based method exhibits a high application potential for assessing vegetation dynamics in glacier forelands, which has a significance for long-term and repeated monitoring on the process of vegetation colonisation and succession in deglaciated areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianfeng Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Donghui Shangguan
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, CAS-HEC, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
| | - Shuhua Yi
- School of Geographic Science, Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Yongjian Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; China-Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth Sciences, CAS-HEC, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan
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Zhang J, Liu D, Meng B, Chen J, Wang X, Jiang H, Yu Y, Yi S. Using UAVs to assess the relationship between alpine meadow bare patches and disturbance by pikas in the source region of Yellow River on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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