Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Changes in global precipitation patterns have had important impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. However, the relationship between alpine vegetation species composition and precipitation patterns remained uncertain. Based on in situ observations, long-term datasets of monthly aboveground biomass (AGB)...
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/47 |
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| author | Xiangnan Ni Wei Guo Tong Liu Shuheng Li Junzhe Zhang |
| author_facet | Xiangnan Ni Wei Guo Tong Liu Shuheng Li Junzhe Zhang |
| author_sort | Xiangnan Ni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Changes in global precipitation patterns have had important impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. However, the relationship between alpine vegetation species composition and precipitation patterns remained uncertain. Based on in situ observations, long-term datasets of monthly aboveground biomass (AGB) and daily precipitation were applied in an alpine grassland on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), in order to characterize the responses of multi-species biomass to changing rainfall patterns. In this study, vegetation species composition exhibited obvious variations during 1997–2011 in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Rapid increases in weed, <i>Kobresia humilis</i>, and <i>Poa crymophila</i> Keng squeezed the living space of the dominant species, <i>Stipa sareptana var. krylovii</i>. Meanwhile, effective precipitation had stronger effects on vegetation biomass, which were heterogeneous in different precipitation periods. Therefore, the crucial effective precipitation, accounting the effective precipitation in crucial periods, could better explain vegetation biomass variations, which could be a new representative climatic indicator to accurately describe vegetation change in alpine grasslands. In addition, crucial periods of effective precipitation appeared to influence heterogeneity for different vegetation species, which showed the heterogeneous adaptability of species to the changes in precipitation patterns. Precipitation patterns during 1997–2011 were more conducive to the growth of <i>Poa crymophila</i> Keng and <i>Kobresia humilis</i>, thereby changing the species composition in alpine grasslands. The coupling of biological environmental adaptability and abiotic crucial effective precipitation determined the variations of vegetation species composition. The new indicator of crucial effective precipitation could provide a new perspective for studying and predicting the species dynamics of alpine grassland. |
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| id | doaj.art-82a79077ce5b442faf91105bca5b2b6b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:41:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-82a79077ce5b442faf91105bca5b2b6b2023-11-30T22:16:37ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-12-011414710.3390/f14010047Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet PlateauXiangnan Ni0Wei Guo1Tong Liu2Shuheng Li3Junzhe Zhang4Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaCollege of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, ChinaDepartment of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USAChanges in global precipitation patterns have had important impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. However, the relationship between alpine vegetation species composition and precipitation patterns remained uncertain. Based on in situ observations, long-term datasets of monthly aboveground biomass (AGB) and daily precipitation were applied in an alpine grassland on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), in order to characterize the responses of multi-species biomass to changing rainfall patterns. In this study, vegetation species composition exhibited obvious variations during 1997–2011 in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Rapid increases in weed, <i>Kobresia humilis</i>, and <i>Poa crymophila</i> Keng squeezed the living space of the dominant species, <i>Stipa sareptana var. krylovii</i>. Meanwhile, effective precipitation had stronger effects on vegetation biomass, which were heterogeneous in different precipitation periods. Therefore, the crucial effective precipitation, accounting the effective precipitation in crucial periods, could better explain vegetation biomass variations, which could be a new representative climatic indicator to accurately describe vegetation change in alpine grasslands. In addition, crucial periods of effective precipitation appeared to influence heterogeneity for different vegetation species, which showed the heterogeneous adaptability of species to the changes in precipitation patterns. Precipitation patterns during 1997–2011 were more conducive to the growth of <i>Poa crymophila</i> Keng and <i>Kobresia humilis</i>, thereby changing the species composition in alpine grasslands. The coupling of biological environmental adaptability and abiotic crucial effective precipitation determined the variations of vegetation species composition. The new indicator of crucial effective precipitation could provide a new perspective for studying and predicting the species dynamics of alpine grassland.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/47effective precipitationalpine grasslandaboveground biomassspecies composition |
| spellingShingle | Xiangnan Ni Wei Guo Tong Liu Shuheng Li Junzhe Zhang Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Forests effective precipitation alpine grassland aboveground biomass species composition |
| title | Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_full | Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_fullStr | Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_short | Long-Term Effects of Altered Precipitation Patterns on Alpine Vegetation Species Composition on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau |
| title_sort | long term effects of altered precipitation patterns on alpine vegetation species composition on the qinghai tibet plateau |
| topic | effective precipitation alpine grassland aboveground biomass species composition |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/47 |
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