Aboveground net primary productivity and carbon balance remain stable under extreme precipitation events in a semiarid steppe ecosystem

Hao, Yanbin; Zhou, Chunhui; Liu, W.J.; Li, L.F.; Kang, Xiaoming; Jiang, Lijin; Cui, Xiaoyong; Wang, Y.F.; Zhou, Xuhui; Xu, Cheng‐Yuan

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.03.006

Cited by 52 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…To our knowledge, our study is the first manipulative experiment to investigate the effects of seasonal timing of heavy rainfall (large cumulative depths over 1 d or more). Similar to the response in the former 2 yr (Hao et al ., ), AGB remained stable in the face of heavy rainfall over all 4 yr, regardless of the seasonal timing (Fig. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The 99 th percentile of total effective precipitation over any 20 d period was 282 mm. Thus, in this study, heavy rainfall (large cumulative depths over 1 d or more) was defined as 282 mm rainfall in total applied uniformly over 20 d (14.1 mm d −1 ) (Hao et al ., ). Our experimental design was similar to those conducted in different ecosystems by Kreyling et al .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…To test these three hypotheses, we performed a 4 yr field experiment in which heavy rainfall was imposed in the middle of as well as late in the growing season in a semiarid grassland in Inner Mongolia, China. Responses of ANPP and ecosystem CO 2 fluxes in the first 2 yr of the 4 yr experiment were reported previously (Hao et al ., ). The present study advances significantly upon the foundation of the previous work by quantifying heavy rainfall impacts across multiple levels of ecological hierarchy, including leaf photosynthesis at the individual level, stem density, leaf area index and biomass above and below ground at the community level, and CO 2 flux at the ecosystem level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Ecological responses to heavy rainfall depend on seasonal timing and multi‐year recurrence

Zheng

et al. 2019

New Phytologist

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Summary Heavy rainfall events are expected to increase in frequency and severity in the future. However, their effects on natural ecosystems are largely unknown, in particular with different seasonal timing of the events and recurrence over multiple years. We conducted a 4 yr manipulative experiment to explore grassland response to heavy rainfall imposed in either the middle of, or late in, the growing season in Inner Mongolia, China. We measured hierarchical responses at individual, community and ecosystem levels. Surprisingly, above‐ground biomass remained stable in the face of heavy rainfall, regardless of seasonal timing, whereas heavy rainfall late in the growing season had consistent negative impacts on below‐ground and total biomass. However, such negative biomass effects were not significant for heavy rainfall in the middle of the growing season. By contrast, heavy rainfall in the middle of the growing season had greater positive effects on ecosystem CO2 exchanges, mainly reflected in the latter 2 yr of the 4 yr experiment. This two‐stage response of CO2 fluxes was regulated by increased community‐level leaf area and leaf‐level photosynthesis and interannual variability of natural precipitation. Overall, our study demonstrates that ecosystem impacts of heavy rainfall events crucially depend on the seasonal timing and multiannual recurrence. Plant physiological and morphological adjustment appeared to improve the capacity of the ecosystem to respond positively to heavy rainfall.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Ecological responses to heavy rainfall depend on seasonal timing and multi‐year recurrence

Zheng

et al. 2019

New Phytologist

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“…() suggested that large rainfall may reduce the pool of soil available nitrogen, limiting soil microbe activities, and thereby constraining RE. In addition, with the increase in SWC, plant root dysfunction may be induced by declining oxygen diffusion, thus inhibiting microbial activity and decreasing plant photosynthesis (Hao et al., ; Huxman et al., ). Furthermore, Pan and Shangguan () suggested that no runoff was observed in silt loam in Loess Plateau when grass coverage was approximately 90%, under slope of 15° and rainfall intensity of 1.5 mm/min.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some models assume that individual rainfall pulses act independently; however, the rainfall sensitivity of carbon fluxes may depend on antecedent soil water (Hao et al., ; Huxman et al., ; Zeppel et al., ). Xu and Baldocchi () and Potts et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall pulse response of carbon fluxes in a temperate grass ecosystem in the semiarid Loess Plateau

Tang

Jiang

Chen

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Rainfall pulses can significantly influence carbon cycling in water‐limited ecosystems. The magnitude of carbon flux component responses to precipitation may vary depending on precipitation amount and antecedent soil moisture, associated with nonlinear responses of plants and soil microbes. The present study was carried out in a temperate grass ecosystem during 2013–2015 in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China, to examine the response of carbon fluxes to precipitation using the “threshold‐delay” model. The unique contribution of environmental variables such as precipitation amount and antecedent soil moisture before rainfall (SWC_antecedent) to carbon fluxes in response to rainfall was also investigated. The lower threshold of effective rainfall was 6.6 mm for gross ecosystem production (GEP), 8.5 mm for net ecosystem production (NEP), and 4.5 mm for ecosystem respiration (RE); and the upper threshold of effective rainfall was 21.4 mm for GEP and NEP, and 16.8 mm for RE. Rainfall amount was positively affected the relative rainfall responses of GEP, NEP, and RE. However, SWC_antecedent at 20 cm soil depth offset the response of GEP to rainfall pulses, and SWC_antecedent at 5 cm soil depth offset the response of NEP and RE to rainfall pulses, with corresponding partial slopes of linear regressions of −0.50, −0.40, and −0.52. These results indicated that NEP was more sensitive to rainfall pulses and RE was more sensitive to SWC_antecedent. These results demonstrate the importance of rainfall events of <10 mm and that the negative effect of SWC_antecedent should also be considered when estimating ecosystem carbon fluxes in this semiarid region.

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Grazing decreases net ecosystem carbon exchange by decreasing shrub and semi‐shrub biomass in a desert steppe

Ju,

Wang,

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Livestock grazing can strongly determine how grasslands function and their role in the carbon cycle. However, how ecosystem carbon exchange responds to grazing and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We measured ecosystem carbon fluxes to explore the changes in carbon exchange and their driving mechanisms under different grazing intensities (CK, control; HG, heavy grazing; LG, light grazing; MG, moderate grazing) based on a 16‐year long‐term grazing experimental platform in a desert steppe. We found that grazing intensity influenced aboveground biomass during the peak growing season, primarily by decreasing shrubs and semi‐shrubs and perennial forbs. Furthermore, grazing decreased net ecosystem carbon exchange by decreasing aboveground biomass, especially the functional group of shrubs and semi‐shrubs. At the same time, we found that belowground biomass and soil ammonium nitrogen were the driving factors of soil respiration in grazed systems. Our study indicates that shrubs and semi‐shrubs are important factors in regulating ecosystem carbon exchange under grazing disturbance in the desert steppe, whereas belowground biomass and soil available nitrogen are important factors regulating soil respiration under grazing disturbance in the desert steppe; this results provide deeper insights for understanding how grazing moderates the relationships between soil nutrients, plant biomass, and ecosystem CO2 exchange, which provide a theoretical basis for further grazing management.

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Aboveground net primary productivity and carbon balance remain stable under extreme precipitation events in a semiarid steppe ecosystem

Cited by 52 publications

References 51 publications

Ecological responses to heavy rainfall depend on seasonal timing and multi‐year recurrence

Ecological responses to heavy rainfall depend on seasonal timing and multi‐year recurrence

Rainfall pulse response of carbon fluxes in a temperate grass ecosystem in the semiarid Loess Plateau

Grazing decreases net ecosystem carbon exchange by decreasing shrub and semi‐shrub biomass in a desert steppe

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