Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects

Abstract Alpine grasslands harbor diverse groups of flora and fauna, provide important ecosystem functions, and yield essential ecosystem goods and services, especially for the development of nature-based tourism. However, they are experiencing increasing anthropogenic perturbations such as tourist...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Wei Li, Shuqiang He, Xiping Cheng, Mingqiang Zhang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/dd1671298776448596e9375de03b71ed
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:dd1671298776448596e9375de03b71ed
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:dd1671298776448596e9375de03b71ed2021-12-02T18:13:52ZFunctional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects10.1038/s41598-021-98372-32045-2322https://doaj.org/article/dd1671298776448596e9375de03b71ed2021-09-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98372-3https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Alpine grasslands harbor diverse groups of flora and fauna, provide important ecosystem functions, and yield essential ecosystem goods and services, especially for the development of nature-based tourism. However, they are experiencing increasing anthropogenic perturbations such as tourist trampling. Although negative effects of tourist trampling on alpine vegetation have been frequently reported, previous studies have focused mainly on changes in taxonomic diversity after trampling, and rarely provide a mechanistic elucidation of trampling effects from a trait-based perspective. The present study evaluates the impacts of simulated trampling on taxonomic and functional diversity of a typical alpine grassland community in Shangri-La, China using a standardized protocol. The results showed that although taxonomic diversity was not statistically significantly affected by trampling, some functional attributes responded rapidly to trampling disturbance. Specifically, functional divergence decreased with an increase in trampling intensity, and characteristics of community-weighted mean trait values changed towards shorter species with reduced leaf area and lower leaf dry matter content. Such strong shifts in functional attributes may further affect ecosystem goods and services provided by alpine grasslands. Our inclusion of functional diversity in the analysis thus adds an important caution to previous studies predominantly focusing on taxonomic diversity, and it is urgent to keep alpine grasslands well managed and ecologically coherent so that their valuable functions and services can be safeguarded.Wei LiShuqiang HeXiping ChengMingqiang ZhangNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Wei Li Shuqiang He Xiping Cheng Mingqiang Zhang Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
description	Abstract Alpine grasslands harbor diverse groups of flora and fauna, provide important ecosystem functions, and yield essential ecosystem goods and services, especially for the development of nature-based tourism. However, they are experiencing increasing anthropogenic perturbations such as tourist trampling. Although negative effects of tourist trampling on alpine vegetation have been frequently reported, previous studies have focused mainly on changes in taxonomic diversity after trampling, and rarely provide a mechanistic elucidation of trampling effects from a trait-based perspective. The present study evaluates the impacts of simulated trampling on taxonomic and functional diversity of a typical alpine grassland community in Shangri-La, China using a standardized protocol. The results showed that although taxonomic diversity was not statistically significantly affected by trampling, some functional attributes responded rapidly to trampling disturbance. Specifically, functional divergence decreased with an increase in trampling intensity, and characteristics of community-weighted mean trait values changed towards shorter species with reduced leaf area and lower leaf dry matter content. Such strong shifts in functional attributes may further affect ecosystem goods and services provided by alpine grasslands. Our inclusion of functional diversity in the analysis thus adds an important caution to previous studies predominantly focusing on taxonomic diversity, and it is urgent to keep alpine grasslands well managed and ecologically coherent so that their valuable functions and services can be safeguarded.
format	article
author	Wei Li Shuqiang He Xiping Cheng Mingqiang Zhang
author_facet	Wei Li Shuqiang He Xiping Cheng Mingqiang Zhang
author_sort	Wei Li
title	Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
title_short	Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
title_full	Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
title_fullStr	Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
title_full_unstemmed	Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
title_sort	functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/dd1671298776448596e9375de03b71ed
work_keys_str_mv	AT weili functionaldiversityoutperformstaxonomicdiversityinrevealingshorttermtramplingeffects AT shuqianghe functionaldiversityoutperformstaxonomicdiversityinrevealingshorttermtramplingeffects AT xipingcheng functionaldiversityoutperformstaxonomicdiversityinrevealingshorttermtramplingeffects AT mingqiangzhang functionaldiversityoutperformstaxonomicdiversityinrevealingshorttermtramplingeffects
_version_	1718378482489098240

Functional diversity outperforms taxonomic diversity in revealing short-term trampling effects

Ejemplares similares