干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in the grasslands of northern China

Arid

DOI	10.1007/s10980-018-0749-2
	Ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in the grasslands of northern China
	Zhou, Luhong 1,2; Shen, Haihua 1,2; Chen, Leiyi 1; Li, He 1; Zhang, Pujin 1,3; Zhao, Xia 1; Liu, Taoyu 1,2; Liu, Shangshi 1,2; Xing, Aijun 1,2; Hu, Huifeng 1; Fang, Jingyun 1,4,5
通讯作者	Fang, Jingyun
来源期刊	LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY
ISSN	0921-2973
EISSN	1572-9761
出版年	2019
卷号	34 期号:1 页码:119-130
英文摘要	ContextShrub encroachment is a critical environmental issue in arid and semi-arid landscapes. However, due to the complicated effects of shrub characteristics and environmental variables, ecological consequences of shrub encroachment significantly differ in different regions. As a result, although the phenomenon of shrub encroachment is widespread in the grasslands of northern China, its ecological consequences and associated drivers have not been well documented at the regional scale.ObjectivesWe explored the effects of shrub encroachment on ecosystem structures (herb richness and abundance) and functioning (above- and belowground biomass, and soil carbon and nitrogen content) and evaluated the relative importance of climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) and shrub characteristics (cover, area, and height) as drivers of these effects.MethodsBased on field data from 53 sites that stretch across approximately 3000km in northern China, we conducted the relative interaction intensity (RII) of the response variables between shrub patches and grassy matrix, and then used the structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the relative importance of chosen drivers on the ecological consequences.ResultsShrub encroachment increased the landscape heterogeneity by decreasing the richness, abundance and aboveground biomass of herbs, while by increasing the soil carbon and nitrogen content. The SEM explained 25-43% of the variation in shrub characteristics and 5-34% of the variation in the effects of shrub encroachment. Shrub height had greater effects on the RII of herb richness, soil carbon and soil nitrogen content, and the standardized total effects were 0.48, 0.25 and 0.18, respectively. Precipitation and temperature positively affected the impacts of shrub encroachment on herb richness, abundance, biomass, and multi-indexes. However, the direct effects of climate could be partially mediated by indirect effects via shrub characteristics.ConclusionsThe height, size and cover of shrub patches significantly influenced the community structures and functioning of grassland ecosystems. The increasing aridity could potentially exacerbate the negative consequences of shrub encroachment in arid regions. Our results also demonstrated that the effects of climate variables on grassland ecosystems could be mediated by shrub management.
英文关键词	Heterogeneity Relative interaction intensity Regional scale Shrub patch Structure Vegetation transition
类型	Article
语种	英语
国家	Peoples R China
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:000458986300010
WOS关键词	PLANT-SPECIES RICHNESS ; SOIL ORGANIC-CARBON ; ECOSYSTEM MULTIFUNCTIONALITY ; AMERICAN GRASSLANDS ; CHIHUAHUAN DESERT ; DIVERSITY ; STABILITY ; GROWTH ; DESERTIFICATION ; HETEROGENEITY
WOS类目	Ecology ; Geography, Physical ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Physical Geography ; Geology
来源机构	北京大学 ; 中国科学院植物研究所
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/217491
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Bot, State Key Lab Vegetat & Environm Change, Beijing 100093, Peoples R China; 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China; 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inner Mongolia Prataculture Res Ctr, Hohhot 010031, Peoples R China; 4.Peking Univ, Inst Ecol, Coll Urban & Environm Sci, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China; 5.Peking Univ, Key Lab Earth Surface Proc, Minist Educ, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhou, Luhong,Shen, Haihua,Chen, Leiyi,et al. Ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in the grasslands of northern China[J]. 北京大学, 中国科学院植物研究所,2019,34(1):119-130.
APA	Zhou, Luhong.,Shen, Haihua.,Chen, Leiyi.,Li, He.,Zhang, Pujin.,...&Fang, Jingyun.(2019).Ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in the grasslands of northern China.LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY,34(1),119-130.
MLA	Zhou, Luhong,et al."Ecological consequences of shrub encroachment in the grasslands of northern China".LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 34.1(2019):119-130.