Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.

<h4>Background</h4>Livestock grazing is the most prevalent land use of grasslands worldwide. The effects of grazing on plant C, N, P contents and stoichiometry across hierarchical levels, however, have rarely been studied; particularly whether the effects are mediated by resource availab...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Shuxia Zheng, Haiyan Ren, Wenhuai Li, Zhichun Lan
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/55124e248e9d4367bd2f0fc9734d872c
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:55124e248e9d4367bd2f0fc9734d872c
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:55124e248e9d4367bd2f0fc9734d872c2021-11-18T08:04:54ZScale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0051750https://doaj.org/article/55124e248e9d4367bd2f0fc9734d872c2012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23272158/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Background</h4>Livestock grazing is the most prevalent land use of grasslands worldwide. The effects of grazing on plant C, N, P contents and stoichiometry across hierarchical levels, however, have rarely been studied; particularly whether the effects are mediated by resource availability and the underpinning mechanisms remain largely unclear.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using a multi-organization-level approach, we examined the effects of grazing on the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in plant tissues (leaves and roots) and linkages to ecosystem functioning across three vegetation types (meadow, meadow steppe, and typical steppe) in the Inner Mongolia grassland, China. Our results showed that the effects of grazing on the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in leaves and roots differed substantially among vegetation types and across different hierarchical levels (species, functional group, and vegetation type levels). The magnitude of positive effects of grazing on leaf N and P contents increased progressively along the hierarchy of organizational levels in the meadow, whereas its negative effect on leaf N content decreased considerably along hierarchical levels in both the typical and meadow steppes. Grazing increased N and P allocation to aboveground in the meadow, while greater N and P allocation to belowground was found in the typical and meadow steppes. The differences in soil properties, plant trait-based resource use strategies, tolerance or defense strategies to grazing, and shifts in functional group composition are likely to be the key mechanisms for the observed patterns among vegetation types.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Our findings suggest that the enhanced vegetation-type-level N contents by grazing and species compensatory feedbacks may be insufficient to prevent widespread declines in primary productivity in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Hence, it is essential to reduce the currently high stocking rates and restore the vast degraded steppes for sustainable development of arid and semiarid grasslands.Shuxia ZhengHaiyan RenWenhuai LiZhichun LanPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 12, p e51750 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Shuxia Zheng Haiyan Ren Wenhuai Li Zhichun Lan Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
description	<h4>Background</h4>Livestock grazing is the most prevalent land use of grasslands worldwide. The effects of grazing on plant C, N, P contents and stoichiometry across hierarchical levels, however, have rarely been studied; particularly whether the effects are mediated by resource availability and the underpinning mechanisms remain largely unclear.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>Using a multi-organization-level approach, we examined the effects of grazing on the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in plant tissues (leaves and roots) and linkages to ecosystem functioning across three vegetation types (meadow, meadow steppe, and typical steppe) in the Inner Mongolia grassland, China. Our results showed that the effects of grazing on the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in leaves and roots differed substantially among vegetation types and across different hierarchical levels (species, functional group, and vegetation type levels). The magnitude of positive effects of grazing on leaf N and P contents increased progressively along the hierarchy of organizational levels in the meadow, whereas its negative effect on leaf N content decreased considerably along hierarchical levels in both the typical and meadow steppes. Grazing increased N and P allocation to aboveground in the meadow, while greater N and P allocation to belowground was found in the typical and meadow steppes. The differences in soil properties, plant trait-based resource use strategies, tolerance or defense strategies to grazing, and shifts in functional group composition are likely to be the key mechanisms for the observed patterns among vegetation types.<h4>Conclusions/significance</h4>Our findings suggest that the enhanced vegetation-type-level N contents by grazing and species compensatory feedbacks may be insufficient to prevent widespread declines in primary productivity in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Hence, it is essential to reduce the currently high stocking rates and restore the vast degraded steppes for sustainable development of arid and semiarid grasslands.
format	article
author	Shuxia Zheng Haiyan Ren Wenhuai Li Zhichun Lan
author_facet	Shuxia Zheng Haiyan Ren Wenhuai Li Zhichun Lan
author_sort	Shuxia Zheng
title	Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
title_short	Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
title_full	Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
title_fullStr	Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
title_full_unstemmed	Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.
title_sort	scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant c: n: p stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the inner mongolia grassland.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/55124e248e9d4367bd2f0fc9734d872c
work_keys_str_mv	AT shuxiazheng scaledependenteffectsofgrazingonplantcnpstoichiometryandlinkagestoecosystemfunctioningintheinnermongoliagrassland AT haiyanren scaledependenteffectsofgrazingonplantcnpstoichiometryandlinkagestoecosystemfunctioningintheinnermongoliagrassland AT wenhuaili scaledependenteffectsofgrazingonplantcnpstoichiometryandlinkagestoecosystemfunctioningintheinnermongoliagrassland AT zhichunlan scaledependenteffectsofgrazingonplantcnpstoichiometryandlinkagestoecosystemfunctioningintheinnermongoliagrassland
_version_	1718422227923238912

Scale-dependent effects of grazing on plant C: N: P stoichiometry and linkages to ecosystem functioning in the Inner Mongolia grassland.

Ejemplares similares