Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.

In the present study, we aim to analyze the effect of grazing, precipitation and temperature on plant species dynamics in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, P.R. China. By uncoupling biotic and abiotic factors, we provide essential information on the main drivers determining species composition a...

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Autores principales:	Haiyan Ren, Philipp Schönbach, Hongwei Wan, Martin Gierus, Friedhelm Taube
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8ad25882eeec4b0488b6101ce5805ba6
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:8ad25882eeec4b0488b6101ce5805ba6
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8ad25882eeec4b0488b6101ce5805ba62021-11-18T08:03:57ZEffects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0052180https://doaj.org/article/8ad25882eeec4b0488b6101ce5805ba62012-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23284925/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203In the present study, we aim to analyze the effect of grazing, precipitation and temperature on plant species dynamics in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, P.R. China. By uncoupling biotic and abiotic factors, we provide essential information on the main drivers determining species composition and species diversity. Effects of grazing by sheep were studied in a controlled experiment along a gradient of seven grazing intensities (from ungrazed to very heavily grazed) during six consecutive years (2005-2010). The results show that plant species composition and diversity varied among years but were little affected by grazing intensity, since the experimental years were much dryer than the long term average, the abiotic constraints may have overridden any grazing effect. Among-year differences were predominantly determined by the abiotic factors of precipitation and temperature. Most of the variation in species dynamics and coexistence between C3 and C4 species was explained by seasonal weather conditions, i.e. precipitation and temperature regime during the early-season (March-June) were most important in determining vegetation dynamics. The dominant C3 species Stipa grandis was highly competitive in March-June, when the temperature levels were low and rainfall level was high. In contrast, the most common C4 species Cleistogenes squarrosa benefited from high early-season temperature levels and low early-season rainfall. However, biomass of Stipa grandis was positively correlated with temperature in March, when effective mean temperature ranges from 0 to 5°C and thus promotes vernalization and vegetative sprouting. Our results suggest that, over a six-year term, it is temporal variability in precipitation and temperature rather than grazing that determines vegetation dynamics and species co-existence of grazed steppe ecosystems. Furthermore, our data support that the variability in the biomass of dominant species, rather than diversity, determine ecosystem functioning. The present study provides fundamental knowledge on the complex interaction of grazing - vegetation - climate.Haiyan RenPhilipp SchönbachHongwei WanMartin GierusFriedhelm TaubePublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 12, p e52180 (2012)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Haiyan Ren Philipp Schönbach Hongwei Wan Martin Gierus Friedhelm Taube Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.
description	In the present study, we aim to analyze the effect of grazing, precipitation and temperature on plant species dynamics in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, P.R. China. By uncoupling biotic and abiotic factors, we provide essential information on the main drivers determining species composition and species diversity. Effects of grazing by sheep were studied in a controlled experiment along a gradient of seven grazing intensities (from ungrazed to very heavily grazed) during six consecutive years (2005-2010). The results show that plant species composition and diversity varied among years but were little affected by grazing intensity, since the experimental years were much dryer than the long term average, the abiotic constraints may have overridden any grazing effect. Among-year differences were predominantly determined by the abiotic factors of precipitation and temperature. Most of the variation in species dynamics and coexistence between C3 and C4 species was explained by seasonal weather conditions, i.e. precipitation and temperature regime during the early-season (March-June) were most important in determining vegetation dynamics. The dominant C3 species Stipa grandis was highly competitive in March-June, when the temperature levels were low and rainfall level was high. In contrast, the most common C4 species Cleistogenes squarrosa benefited from high early-season temperature levels and low early-season rainfall. However, biomass of Stipa grandis was positively correlated with temperature in March, when effective mean temperature ranges from 0 to 5°C and thus promotes vernalization and vegetative sprouting. Our results suggest that, over a six-year term, it is temporal variability in precipitation and temperature rather than grazing that determines vegetation dynamics and species co-existence of grazed steppe ecosystems. Furthermore, our data support that the variability in the biomass of dominant species, rather than diversity, determine ecosystem functioning. The present study provides fundamental knowledge on the complex interaction of grazing - vegetation - climate.
format	article
author	Haiyan Ren Philipp Schönbach Hongwei Wan Martin Gierus Friedhelm Taube
author_facet	Haiyan Ren Philipp Schönbach Hongwei Wan Martin Gierus Friedhelm Taube
author_sort	Haiyan Ren
title	Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.
title_short	Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.
title_full	Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.
title_fullStr	Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.
title_full_unstemmed	Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.
title_sort	effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of inner mongolia, china.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2012
url	https://doaj.org/article/8ad25882eeec4b0488b6101ce5805ba6
work_keys_str_mv	AT haiyanren effectsofgrazingintensityandenvironmentalfactorsonspeciescompositionanddiversityintypicalsteppeofinnermongoliachina AT philippschonbach effectsofgrazingintensityandenvironmentalfactorsonspeciescompositionanddiversityintypicalsteppeofinnermongoliachina AT hongweiwan effectsofgrazingintensityandenvironmentalfactorsonspeciescompositionanddiversityintypicalsteppeofinnermongoliachina AT martingierus effectsofgrazingintensityandenvironmentalfactorsonspeciescompositionanddiversityintypicalsteppeofinnermongoliachina AT friedhelmtaube effectsofgrazingintensityandenvironmentalfactorsonspeciescompositionanddiversityintypicalsteppeofinnermongoliachina
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Effects of grazing intensity and environmental factors on species composition and diversity in typical steppe of Inner Mongolia, China.

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