Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China

Effects of environmental factors on plant diversity in temperate grasslands are of interest since experiments have found plant diversity is related to ecosystem function. Although previous studies have focused on the effects of environmental factors on plant diversity, the dominant environmental fac...

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Autores principales:	Xiaohang Bai, Wenwu Zhao, Jing Wang, Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Grassland ecosystem Environmental drivers Floristic composition Functional diversity Plant biomass China Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e39e932b2f7d4c438696cf1df326c698
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e39e932b2f7d4c438696cf1df326c6982021-11-28T04:33:17ZPrecipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China2351-989410.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01933https://doaj.org/article/e39e932b2f7d4c438696cf1df326c6982021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989421004832https://doaj.org/toc/2351-9894Effects of environmental factors on plant diversity in temperate grasslands are of interest since experiments have found plant diversity is related to ecosystem function. Although previous studies have focused on the effects of environmental factors on plant diversity, the dominant environmental factors driving diversity differences among plant community types in temperate grasslands at regional scale remains unclear. We established 38 sampling sites (45 m × 45 m) in the main distribution areas of temperate grasslands to analyze the responses of plant community along different environmental gradients and identifies the dominant environmental factors driving the floristic composition and diversity in Inner Mongolia, China. In addition, environmental variables (annual mean temperature, annual precipitation, altitude, disturbance intensity, soil pH, soil density, soil water content, soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen, soil total phosphorus, soil calcium carbonate), species diversity indices (richness, heterogeneity, evenness), functional diversity indices (abundance, evenness, divergence, dispersion) and plant biomass were analyzed. A total of 179 vascular plant species belonging to 43 families and 113 genera were recorded and classified into six plant community types (Stipa grandis community, Leymus chinensis community, Stipa capillata community, Artemisia frigida community, Cleistogenes squarrosa community, Artemisia halodendron community) based on Ward's agglomerative hierarchical clustering. According to canonical correspondence analysis and Monte Carlo permutation test, mean annual precipitation was the dominant environmental factor driving temperate grasslands, promoting species richness, heterogeneity, evenness, functional divergence and biomass. Soil organic carbon, water content and total nitrogen played positive effects on species diversity, meanwhile, mean annual temperature, altitude, grazing intensity and soil pH inhibited species diversity, functional abundance, dispersion and biomass. Furthermore, the presence of these plant communities dominated by Cleistogenes squarrosa and Artemisia halodendron indicate that grassland degradation is imminent or has already begun. In summary, our results provide evidence on the responses of composition, functional traits and biomass among different plant community types to environmental factors and demonstrate that precipitation is the dominant factors driving the floristic composition and diversity in temperate grasslands.Xiaohang BaiWenwu ZhaoJing WangCarla Sofia Santos FerreiraElsevierarticleGrassland ecosystemEnvironmental driversFloristic compositionFunctional diversityPlant biomassChinaEcologyQH540-549.5ENGlobal Ecology and Conservation, Vol 32, Iss , Pp e01933- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Grassland ecosystem Environmental drivers Floristic composition Functional diversity Plant biomass China Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Grassland ecosystem Environmental drivers Floristic composition Functional diversity Plant biomass China Ecology QH540-549.5 Xiaohang Bai Wenwu Zhao Jing Wang Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China
description	Effects of environmental factors on plant diversity in temperate grasslands are of interest since experiments have found plant diversity is related to ecosystem function. Although previous studies have focused on the effects of environmental factors on plant diversity, the dominant environmental factors driving diversity differences among plant community types in temperate grasslands at regional scale remains unclear. We established 38 sampling sites (45 m × 45 m) in the main distribution areas of temperate grasslands to analyze the responses of plant community along different environmental gradients and identifies the dominant environmental factors driving the floristic composition and diversity in Inner Mongolia, China. In addition, environmental variables (annual mean temperature, annual precipitation, altitude, disturbance intensity, soil pH, soil density, soil water content, soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen, soil total phosphorus, soil calcium carbonate), species diversity indices (richness, heterogeneity, evenness), functional diversity indices (abundance, evenness, divergence, dispersion) and plant biomass were analyzed. A total of 179 vascular plant species belonging to 43 families and 113 genera were recorded and classified into six plant community types (Stipa grandis community, Leymus chinensis community, Stipa capillata community, Artemisia frigida community, Cleistogenes squarrosa community, Artemisia halodendron community) based on Ward's agglomerative hierarchical clustering. According to canonical correspondence analysis and Monte Carlo permutation test, mean annual precipitation was the dominant environmental factor driving temperate grasslands, promoting species richness, heterogeneity, evenness, functional divergence and biomass. Soil organic carbon, water content and total nitrogen played positive effects on species diversity, meanwhile, mean annual temperature, altitude, grazing intensity and soil pH inhibited species diversity, functional abundance, dispersion and biomass. Furthermore, the presence of these plant communities dominated by Cleistogenes squarrosa and Artemisia halodendron indicate that grassland degradation is imminent or has already begun. In summary, our results provide evidence on the responses of composition, functional traits and biomass among different plant community types to environmental factors and demonstrate that precipitation is the dominant factors driving the floristic composition and diversity in temperate grasslands.
format	article
author	Xiaohang Bai Wenwu Zhao Jing Wang Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
author_facet	Xiaohang Bai Wenwu Zhao Jing Wang Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
author_sort	Xiaohang Bai
title	Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China
title_short	Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China
title_full	Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China
title_fullStr	Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China
title_full_unstemmed	Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China
title_sort	precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in china
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e39e932b2f7d4c438696cf1df326c698
work_keys_str_mv	AT xiaohangbai precipitationdrivesthefloristiccompositionanddiversityoftemperategrasslandsinchina AT wenwuzhao precipitationdrivesthefloristiccompositionanddiversityoftemperategrasslandsinchina AT jingwang precipitationdrivesthefloristiccompositionanddiversityoftemperategrasslandsinchina AT carlasofiasantosferreira precipitationdrivesthefloristiccompositionanddiversityoftemperategrasslandsinchina
_version_	1718408352242860032

Precipitation drives the floristic composition and diversity of temperate grasslands in China

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