Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type

Spatial heterogeneity plays a crucial role in affecting the ecologial processes in natural ecosystems, yet how spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert-grassland transitional zone varies with increased spatial scale are still poorly known. We measured plant height, density, species r...

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Autores principales:	Xiaoan Zuo, Wei Mao, Hao Qu, Min Chen, Shenglong Zhao, Lianxu Liu, Shaokun Wang, Ping Yue, Xujun Ma, Xueyong Zhao, Eduardo Medina-Roldán, Ginger R.H. Allington
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Conceptual model Geostatistical analysis Grassland Multiple spatial-scale Shrub community Spatial dependence Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c1387e05d64c4eaa81a3e31dcc748f05
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c1387e05d64c4eaa81a3e31dcc748f052021-12-01T04:53:13ZScale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107769https://doaj.org/article/c1387e05d64c4eaa81a3e31dcc748f052021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21004349https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XSpatial heterogeneity plays a crucial role in affecting the ecologial processes in natural ecosystems, yet how spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert-grassland transitional zone varies with increased spatial scale are still poorly known. We measured plant height, density, species richness and aboveground plant biomass (AGB) at the small (0.25 × 0.5 km), medium (0.5 × 0.5 km) and large (0.5 × 1 km) spatial scales in two adjacent plant communities (shrub- and grass-dominated) in desert steppe, Inner Mongolia. We used the geostatistical methods to examine the magnitude and degree of spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation characteristics with the increasing scale in both two plant communities. We found that compared to grass-dominated community, shrub-dominated community had the lower plant height and density at the large scale, the higher AGB at the small or medium scale, and the lower species richness at all three scales. Plant height, density and AGB in grass-dominated community were higher at the large scale than at the small scale, but they did not differ across three scales in shrub-dominated community. Species richness in both two communities were higher at the small scale than at the medium or large scale. All vegetation characteristics at three scales had the higher spatial heterogeneity in shrub- than in grass-dominated community. Spatial heterogeneity of all vegetation characteristics in shrub-dominated community decreased from the small to the large scale, while their spatial heterogeneity of plant height, density and species richness in grass-dominated community increased with the increasing scale. Our study highlights that shrub encroachment can simplify community composition and amplify spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation at multiple scales. Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe are dependent on plant community dominated by shrub or grass.Xiaoan ZuoWei MaoHao QuMin ChenShenglong ZhaoLianxu LiuShaokun WangPing YueXujun MaXueyong ZhaoEduardo Medina-RoldánGinger R.H. AllingtonElsevierarticleConceptual modelGeostatistical analysisGrasslandMultiple spatial-scaleShrub communitySpatial dependenceEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 127, Iss , Pp 107769- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Conceptual model Geostatistical analysis Grassland Multiple spatial-scale Shrub community Spatial dependence Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Conceptual model Geostatistical analysis Grassland Multiple spatial-scale Shrub community Spatial dependence Ecology QH540-549.5 Xiaoan Zuo Wei Mao Hao Qu Min Chen Shenglong Zhao Lianxu Liu Shaokun Wang Ping Yue Xujun Ma Xueyong Zhao Eduardo Medina-Roldán Ginger R.H. Allington Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
description	Spatial heterogeneity plays a crucial role in affecting the ecologial processes in natural ecosystems, yet how spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert-grassland transitional zone varies with increased spatial scale are still poorly known. We measured plant height, density, species richness and aboveground plant biomass (AGB) at the small (0.25 × 0.5 km), medium (0.5 × 0.5 km) and large (0.5 × 1 km) spatial scales in two adjacent plant communities (shrub- and grass-dominated) in desert steppe, Inner Mongolia. We used the geostatistical methods to examine the magnitude and degree of spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation characteristics with the increasing scale in both two plant communities. We found that compared to grass-dominated community, shrub-dominated community had the lower plant height and density at the large scale, the higher AGB at the small or medium scale, and the lower species richness at all three scales. Plant height, density and AGB in grass-dominated community were higher at the large scale than at the small scale, but they did not differ across three scales in shrub-dominated community. Species richness in both two communities were higher at the small scale than at the medium or large scale. All vegetation characteristics at three scales had the higher spatial heterogeneity in shrub- than in grass-dominated community. Spatial heterogeneity of all vegetation characteristics in shrub-dominated community decreased from the small to the large scale, while their spatial heterogeneity of plant height, density and species richness in grass-dominated community increased with the increasing scale. Our study highlights that shrub encroachment can simplify community composition and amplify spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation at multiple scales. Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe are dependent on plant community dominated by shrub or grass.
format	article
author	Xiaoan Zuo Wei Mao Hao Qu Min Chen Shenglong Zhao Lianxu Liu Shaokun Wang Ping Yue Xujun Ma Xueyong Zhao Eduardo Medina-Roldán Ginger R.H. Allington
author_facet	Xiaoan Zuo Wei Mao Hao Qu Min Chen Shenglong Zhao Lianxu Liu Shaokun Wang Ping Yue Xujun Ma Xueyong Zhao Eduardo Medina-Roldán Ginger R.H. Allington
author_sort	Xiaoan Zuo
title	Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
title_short	Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
title_full	Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
title_fullStr	Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
title_full_unstemmed	Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
title_sort	scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c1387e05d64c4eaa81a3e31dcc748f05
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Scale effects on spatial heterogeneity of herbaceous vegetation in desert steppe depend on plant community type

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