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88 results for “Grassland Ecosystem”

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dryad36/100

Data from: Does pH matter for ecosystem multifunctionality? An empirical test in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau

Date of data collection: 2016-2018 Geographic location of data collection: Guyuan, Ningxia, China (106°23′E, 36°15′N) These data were generated to (i) investigate the responses of soil properties, biological communities and multifunctionality to decreased soil pH; (ii) determine the potential biotic and abiotic pathways that soil pH may drive multifunctionality. In 2016, a 17 m × 40 m semi-arid grassland plot with an initial pH value of 8.05 and uniform vegetation was selected. The experiment was granted by the administration of Yunwu Mountain National Nature Reserve. A randomized block design was used with five treatments and six replicates per treatment. A total of 30 plots were established. All plots were 2 m × 2 m and separated by 1 m buffer zones. The treatments included five levels of acid addition rate (0, 0.23, 0.56, 3.60, and 9.01 mol H+ m-2) in the form of sulphuric acid solution. In late August 2017, the plant communities achieved their peak biomass, and were surveyed and harvested in a 0.5 m × 1 m quadrat in each plot to determine the plant community diversity and estimate above-ground biomass. After harvesting the plants, six soil cores (0-15 cm deep, 2.5 cm diameter) per plot in each of the six blocks were collected and pooled by plot as a replicate for further chemical analyses.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Grazing and global change factors differentially affect biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in grassland ecosystems

Grazing and global change (e.g., warming, nitrogen deposition and altered precipitation) both contribute to biodiversity loss and alter ecosystem structure and functioning. However, how grazing and global change interactively influence plant diversity, ecosystem productivity, and their relationship remains unclear at the global scale. Here, we synthesized 73 field studies to quantify the individual and/or interactive effects of grazing and global change factors on biodiversity-productivity relationship in grasslands. Our results showed that grazing significantly reduced plant richness by 3.7% and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) by 29.1%, but increased belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) by 9.3%. Global change factors, however, decreased richness by 8.0% but increased ANPP and BNPP by 13.4% and 14.9%, respectively. Interestingly, the strength of the change in biodiversity in response to grazing was positively correlated with the strength of the change in BNPP. Yet, global change flipped these relationships from positive to negative even when combined with grazing. These results indicate that the impacts of global change factors are more dominant than grazing on the belowground biodiversity-productivity relationship, which is contrary to the pattern of aboveground one. Therefore, incorporating global change factors with herbivore grazing into Earth system models is necessary to accurately predict climate-grassland carbon cycle feedbacks in the Anthropocene.

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

zenodo36/100

Fig. 2 in Respiration Co And N O Emission From Grassland Ecosystems

Fig. 2. Soil compaction alteration depending on depth in different crop fields.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2015View details →

zenodo36/100

Fig.1 in Respiration Co And N O Emission From Grassland Ecosystems

Fig.1. Variation of the site meteorological parameters during the GHG measurement in June-July.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2015View details →

dryad36/100

Soil biota diversity and plant diversity both contributed to ecosystem stability in grasslands

Understanding the effects of diversity on ecosystem stability in the context of global change has become an important goal of recent ecological research. However, the effects of diversity at multiple scales and trophic levels on ecosystem stability across environmental gradients remain unclear. Here, we conducted a field survey of α-, β-, and γ-diversity of plants and soil biota (bacteria, fungi, and nematodes) and estimated the temporal ecosystem stability of NDVI in 132 plots on the Mongolian Plateau. After climate and soil environmental variables were controlled for, both the α- and β-diversity of plants and soil biota (mainly via nematodes) together with precipitation explained most variation in ecosystem stability. These findings evidence that the diversity of both soil biota and plants contributes to ecosystem stability. Model predictions of the future effects of global changes on terrestrial ecosystem stability will require field observations of diversity of both plants and soil biota.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Wildfire disturbance reveals evidence of ecosystem resilience and precariousness in a forest-grassland mosaic

Forest and grassland ecosystems are sometimes located adjacently within the same climate. In interior British Columbia, Canada, there are complex forest-grassland mosaics within the Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone. Historically, both grassland and forest ecosystems experienced high-frequency, low-severity fire regimes. Since European settlement and introduction of livestock grazing and fire exclusion, trees have encroached on grasslands, and tree densities in forests have increased. In this study, we characterize plant communities and near-surface soil moisture in forest and grassland sites, and in historical grassland sites affected by tree encroachment. We hypothesized that spatial and temporal patterns of near-surface soil moisture are reflected in above-ground plant community composition and structure. After initial sampling of soil moisture and plant communities, the study area was burned in a wildfire. Applying a multifactorial approach to comparing adjacent grassland and forest sites, we treated the wildfire event as a natural experiment, sampling post-wildfire plant species composition and soil moisture, and measuring the severity and spatial heterogeneity of surface burn conditions. Evidence supports the concept of mutually exclusive fire-reinforced bi-stable grassland and forest states, with greater spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture and burn severity in forests, and highly uniform patterns of soil moisture, vegetation, and burn severity in grasslands. Areas of forest encroachment on grasslands had understory plant communities dominated by exotic species, while restored grasslands had native bunchgrass cover like typical grasslands of the region. Additionally, there was post-wildfire divergence of forest- and grassland- associated plant communities. Viewed through a resilience theory conceptual framework, we suggest that ecosystem legacies are reinforcing post-wildfire ecosystem identity and associated native plant communities. External factors - particularly past heavy livestock grazing and fire suppression - have caused ecosystem precariousness that can be addressed with management actions.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Afforestation and abandonment of semi-natural grasslands lead to biodiversity loss and a decline in ecosystem services and functions

1. During the past century, semi-natural grasslands, once widespread throughout Europe, have largely been converted into intensively managed agricultural areas, abandoned or afforested. These large-scale land-use changes have already resulted in considerable biodiversity loss but can also lead to a decline in ecosystem service provision and ecosystem multifunctionality. 2. We assessed the impact of afforestation and abandonment of semi-natural grasslands on the supply of ecosystem services in Western Estonia. We compared a wide array of services provided by open grasslands, abandoned grasslands, and afforested grasslands. Additionally, we analysed the impact of land-use change and species richness on ecosystem multifunctionality. 3. Significant declines in the supply of pollination service, natural pest regulation, forage production, soil quality, wild food, and cultural appreciation of landscape were detected as a result of overgrowing or afforestation. 4. There was a significant positive relationship between species richness and ecosystem multifunctionality, i.e. more biodiverse grasslands were able to support more services at a higher capacity. 5. Results show that both grassland degradation due to abandonment, as well as grassland afforestation, have significant negative impacts on biodiversity, on the supply of multiple important ecosystem services and on the ecosystem multifunctionality. 6. Synthesis and applications. Temperate semi-natural grasslands have high biodiversity and capacity to deliver multiple important ecosystem services simultaneously. Conservation and restoration of grassland habitats must be considered as an important part of sustainable landscape planning.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

dryad36/100

The functioning of alpine grassland ecosystems: climate outweighs plant species richness

<ol> <li>The biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship has received significant attention in recent decades. It has been widely demonstrated that plant diversity plays a crucial role in enhancing the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. However, few studies have tested the influence of plant species richness in mediating the impacts of climate on ecosystem functions at large spatial scales. </li> <li>To address this gap, we utilized data from field surveys across broad climatic gradients at the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Our goal was to examine the importance of plant species richness for the functioning of alpine grassland ecosystems, specifically productivity and soil carbon sequestration. </li> <li>Our results showed strong positive correlations between ecosystem functioning and growing season precipitation as well as species richness. In contrast, there was a negative correlation with growing season temperature. Notably, the positive effect of growing season precipitation on ecosystem functioning outweighed the negative effect of growing season temperature. The indirect effects of growing season precipitation and temperature on ecosystem functioning through changes in species richness were weak. Furthermore, the inclusion of climate factors in the model weakened the relationships between species richness and ecosystem functioning.</li> <li>Synthesis. Our findings demonstrate that climate factors are more important than species richness for the provisioning of ecosystem functions at large spatial scales. In summary, our study underscores the importance of considering climate factors alongside species richness when assessing ecosystem functioning across extensive geographical areas.</li> </ol>

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

dryad36/100