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59 results for “semi-arid grasslands”
Shrub influence on soil carbon and nitrogen in a semi-arid grassland is mediated by precipitation and largely insensitive to livestock grazing
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Data from: Grassland type and seasonal effects have a bigger influence on plant functional and taxonomical diversity than prairie dog disturbances in semi-arid grasslands
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Effect of changing precipitation in different periods on precipitation use efficiency in a semi-arid grassland
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Bottom-up effects of plant quantity and quality on arthropod diversity across multiple trophic levels in a semi-arid grassland
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Deepened snow cover mitigates soil carbon loss from intensive land use in a semi-arid temperate grassland
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Responses of soil temperature, moisture, and respiration to five-year warming and nitrogen addition in a semi-arid grassland
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Functional attributes of conifers expanding into temperate semi-arid grasslands modulate carbon and nitrogen fluxes in response to prescribed fire
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Data from: Does pH matter for ecosystem multifunctionality? An empirical test in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau
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Data from: Litter addition decreases plant diversity by suppressing seeding in a semi-arid grassland, Northern China
Plant community diversity is conducive to maintain the regional ecosystems stability and ecosystem services. Seed germination is one of the main ways to regulate plant diversity, owing to seedling recruitment as a basis for plant community renewal. However, the exact mechanism of how plant litter affects seedling recruitment and species richness is not yet fully understood. Therefore, a litter addition and removal experiment were established in a semiarid grassland to study the effects of plant litter on seedling recruitment and species richness from April to August in 2016 and 2017 in Northern China. The positive correlation between species richness and seedling recruitment indicated that a guarantee of seedling recruitment was the main precondition to protect species richness. Adding rather than removing litter significantly reduced species richness. Litter addition inhibited species richness by directly increasing mechanical damage or indirectly reducing photosynthetically active radiation and seedling recruitment. The results of this study are conducive to understand the evolutionary and regulatory mechanisms of community species richness and seedling recruitment in grassland ecosystems after adding or removing plant litter.
Data from: Plant quantity and quality regulate the diversity of arthropod communities in a semi-arid grassland
<p> </p> <p>The quantity (e.g. biomass production) and quality (e.g. leaf nutrient content) of plants can strongly influence arthropod diversity, but few studies have tried to disentangle such effects.</p> <p>In this study, we examined the independent effects of plant productivity and leaf traits on the taxon richness and abundance of entire arthropod communities and multiple arthropod orders in replicated monocultures of 15 herbaceous species in the Inner Mongolian grassland.</p> <p>Total taxon richness of arthropod communities increased with plant productivity and an increase in a high nutrient content indicator (PC1) of plant leaf traits (e.g. high leaf nitrogen, phosphorus and water contents), but decreased with an increase in a poor nutrient content indicator (PC2) of plant leaf traits (e.g. high leaf lignin content but low specific leaf area). Total abundance of arthropod communities increased with increasing plant productivity but decreased with increasing PC2.</p> <p>Many common, rather than rare arthropod orders, exhibited strong responses to the changes in plant quantity or quality. Taxon richness of Diptera, Neuroptera and Coleoptera responded positively to the increase in plant productivity and PC1, while taxon richness of Hemiptera and Coleoptera responded negatively to the increase in PC2. Abundances of Diptera and Coleoptera responded positively to the increased plant productivity, whereas abundances of Hymenoptera and Hemiptera responded negatively to the increased PC2. The order-specific responses of arthropod richness and abundance to plant quantity or quality reflected the different food requirements and feeding behaviors of arthropods.</p> <p>Our findings demonstrate that plant quantity and quality can independently control richness and abundance of arthropod communities. The changes in plant productivity and nutrient content of different plant species may alter arthropod diversity and community structure, and these changes in turn may have strong cascading effects on multiple functions (e.g. prey, decomposers, pollinators and predators) in terrestrial ecosystems.</p> <p> </p>
Data from: Thresholds and gradients in a semi-arid grassland: long-term grazing treatments induce slow, continuous and reversible vegetation change
1. Temporal changes in semi-arid ecosystems can include transitions between alternative stable states, involving thresholds and multiple domains of attraction, but can also include relatively continuous, symmetric and reversible shifts within a single stable state. Conceptual state-and-transition models (STMs) describe both types of ecosystem dynamics by including state transitions (plant community changes difficult-to-reverse without substantial input or effort) and phase shifts (easily reversible community changes) as consequences of management practices and environmental variability. Grazing management is purported to be the primary driver of state transitions in current STMs for North American grasslands, but there is limited empirical evidence from these grasslands showing that grazing can cause difficult-to-reverse transitions between alternate stable states. 2 .In a northern mixed-grass prairie in Wyoming, USA, we examined plant community responses to (i) long-term (33-year) grazing intensity treatments (none, light, moderate and heavy stocking rates) and (ii) 8 years of light or no grazing in pastures that were grazed heavily for the previous 25 years. 3. Long-term grazing treatments were associated with distinct, but not stable, plant communities. From year 22 to 33, heavier stocking rates decreased cover of dominant C3 grasses and increased cover of the dominant C4 grass Bouteloua gracilis. 4. Reversing stocking rates from heavy to light or no grazing resulted in reversal of changes induced by prior heavy stocking for dominant C3 grasses, but not for B. gracilis. For both groups, rates of change following grazing treatment reversals were consistent with rates of change during the initial years of the experiment (1982–1990). 5. Synthesis and applications. In a semi-arid rangeland with a long evolutionary history of grazing, different long-term grazing intensity treatments caused slow, continuous, and directional changes with important management implications, but did not appear to induce alternative stable states. For this and similar ecosystems, quantifying the time-scales and compositional gradients associated with key phase shifts may be more important than identifying thresholds between alternative stable states.
Data from: Shrub encroachment can reverse desertification in semi-arid Mediterranean grasslands
The worldwide phenomenon of shrub encroachment in grass-dominated dryland ecosystems is commonly associated with desertification. Studies of the purported desertification effects associated with shrub encroachment are often restricted to relatively few study areas, and document a narrow range of possible impacts upon biota and ecosystem processes. We conducted a study in degraded Mediterranean grasslands dominated by Stipa tenacissima to simultaneously evaluate the effects of shrub encroachment on the structure and composition of multiple biotic community components, and on various indicators of ecosystem function. Shrub encroachment enhanced vascular plant richness, biomass of fungi, actinomycetes and other bacteria, and was linked with greater soil fertility and N mineralization rates. While shrub encroachment may be a widespread phenomenon in drylands, an interpretation that this is an expression of desertification is not universal. Our results suggest that shrub establishment may be an important step in the reversal of desertification processes in the Mediterranean region.
Data from: Reducing soil erosion by improving community functional diversity in semi-arid grasslands
1. Great efforts have been made to control soil erosion by restoring plant communities in degraded ecosystems world-wide. However, soil erosion has not been substantially reduced mainly because current restoration strategies lead to large areas of mono-specific vegetation, which are inefficient in reducing soil erosion because of their simple canopy and root structure. Therefore, an advanced understanding of how community functional composition affects soil erosion processes, as well as an improved restoration scheme to reduce soil erosion, is urgently needed. 2. We investigated the effect of community functional composition on soil erosion in restored semi-arid grasslands on the Loess Plateau of China. Community functional composition of 16 restored grasslands was quantified by community-weighted mean (CWM) and functional diversity (FD) trait values, which were calculated from nine plant functional traits of thirteen locally dominant plant species. Species richness and evenness were also measured. Soil erosion rates were measured using standard erosion plots. The multimodel inference approach was used to estimate the direction and the relative importance of these biodiversity indices in reducing soil erosion. 3. A robust and strong negative effect of functional divergence (FDiv) on soil erosion was found. The prevalence of particular trait combinations can also decrease soil erosion. The greatest control over soil erosion was exerted when the community mean root diameter was small and the root tensile strength was great. 4. Synthesis and applications: These findings imply that community functional diversity plays an important role in reducing soil erosion in semi-arid restored grasslands. This means that current restoration strategies can be greatly improved by incorporating community functional diversity into restoration design. We propose a trait-based restoration framework for reducing soil erosion, termed 'SSM' (Screening–Simulating–Maintaining). SSM aims to translate the target of community functional diversity into community assemblages that can be manipulated by practitioners. Based on this framework, a comprehensive procedure, highlighting functional diversity as the primary concern in determining optimal community assemblages, was developed to meet the pressing need for more effective restoration strategies to reduce soil erosion.
Data from: Direct effects of nitrogen addition on seed germination of eight semi-arid grassland species
<p>Seed germination plays an important role in mediating plant species composition of grassland communities under nitrogen (N) enrichment. Shifts of plant community structure with N-enhanced deposition in terrestrial ecosystems have occurred globally. Despite numerous studies about the effects of enhanced N deposition on mature plant communities, few studies have focused on seed germination. Using a laboratory experiment, we report the effects of five N concentrations, including 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mM N (NH<sub>4</sub>NO<sub>3</sub>) on seed germination of eight semi-arid grassland species. Results showed that low N concentrations (5- and 20-mM N) promoted mean final germination proportion of all eight species by 4.4% and 6.4%, but high concentrations (40 mM N) had no effect. The mean germination rate was decreased 2.1% and 5.1% by higher N concentration (20- and 40-mM N) levels, but germination start time showed the opposite trend, delayed by 0.7, 0.9, and 1.8 d for the 10, 20, and 40 Mm N treatments. Final germination proportion, mean germination rate, and germination start time were significantly different among species in response to N concentration treatments. The final germination proportion of <i>Allium tenuissimum </i>and<i> Chenopodium glaucum </i>were suppressed by increased N concentration, whereas it increased for<i> Potentilla bifurca, Plantago asiatica </i>and<i> Setaria viridis</i>. Our findings provide novel insights into N-deposition-induced species loss based on seed germination factors in semi-arid grassland communities.</p>
Unaltered soil microbial community composition, but decreased metabolic activity in a semi-arid grassland after two years of passive experimental warming
<p>Soil microbial communities regulate soil carbon feedbacks to climate warming through microbial respiration (i.e. metabolic rate). A thorough understanding of the responses of composition, biomass and metabolic rate of soil microbial community to warming is crucial to predict soil carbon stocks in a future warmer climate. Therefore, we conducted a field manipulative experiment in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau of China to evaluate the responses of the soil microbial community to increased temperature from April 2015 to December 2017. Soil temperature was 2.0 <sup>o</sup>C higher relative to the ambient when open-top chambers (OTCs) were used. Warming did not affect microbial biomass or the composition of microbial functional groups. However, warming significantly decreased microbial respiration, directly resulting from soil pH decrease driven by the co-mediation of aboveground biomass increase, inorganic nitrogen increase and moisture decrease. These findings highlight that the soil microbial community structure of semi-arid grasslands resisted the short-term warming by 2 <sup>o</sup>C, although its metabolic rate declined.</p>
Seasonal community stability increased with water addition and shrub removal but reduced with nitrogen addition in semi-arid grassland
<p>1. Stability is a useful indicator of the functioning and sustainability of an ecosystem, and many studies have explored the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on the inter-annual stability of plant communities. However, the effects of multiple anthropogenic stressors on seasonal community stability have not been clearly elucidated, especially for vulnerable semi-arid grasslands.</p> <p>2. During the growing season in the 5th year of the experiment, we determined how nitrogen (N) addition, water addition, and shrub removal altered seasonal community stability in a semi-arid grassland dominated by the shrub <em>Caragana</em> <em>microphylla</em> on the Mongolian Plateau.</p> <p>3. We found that shrub removal, N addition, and water addition had different effects on the stability of the community and plant functional groups (PFGs). Shrub removal increased seasonal community stability mostly via increases in the stability of perennial forbs and C4 plants, and shrub removal did not alter the effects of N addition or water addition on seasonal community stability or PFG stability.</p> <p>4. N addition decreased seasonal community stability mostly via decreases in the stability of perennial rhizome grasses and C<sub>4</sub> plants. Water addition increased seasonal community stability mostly via increases in the stability of annuals and biennials, perennial forbs, perennial rhizome grasses, dominant species, and C<sub>4</sub> plants. Species asynchrony and PFG stability but not species richness or soil abiotic or biotic variables helped to maintain seasonal community stability under N addition or water addition.</p> <p>5. Our findings indicate that future scenarios of increases in N deposition and shrub encroachment will strongly reduce community stability in drylands, and that future scenarios of increases in precipitation together with shrub removal might help to maintain the stability of this and other dryland ecosystems.</p>
Data from: Shrub encroachment can reverse desertification in semi-arid Mediterranean grasslands
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Data from: Biological soil crusts modulate nitrogen availability in semi-arid ecosystems: insights from a Mediterranean grassland
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Data from: Thresholds and gradients in a semi-arid grassland: long-term grazing treatments induce slow, continuous and reversible vegetation change
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Data from: Litter addition decreases plant diversity by suppressing seeding in a semi-arid grassland, Northern China
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.