Balance between facilitation and competition determines spatial patterns in a plant population

Wang, Xinting; Liang, Cunzhu; Wang, Wei

doi:10.1007/s11434-014-0142-8

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The samples used in this experiment were collected from the non-grazing area (referred to as FS) and the overgrazing area (referred to as OS), in a typical dominant steppe in the Baiyinxile Livestock Farm of Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia (116°40'E, 43°33'N), in the middle of August. The non-grazing area has been fenced since 1983 for grazing-free and is considered to be restored, while overgrazing region right next to the fenced area was freely grazed by sheep and seriously degraded [ 15 ]. More details about the non-grazing and overgrazing region can be found in previously study [ 16 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

De novo Assembly and Transcriptomic Profiling of the Grazing Response in Stipa grandis

Wan

Hou

et al. 2015

PLoS ONE

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Background Stipa grandis (Poaceae) is one of the dominant species in a typical steppe of the Inner Mongolian Plateau. However, primarily due to heavy grazing, the grasslands have become seriously degraded, and S. grandis has developed a special growth-inhibition phenotype against the stressful habitat. Because of the lack of transcriptomic and genomic information, the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the grazing response of S. grandis has been prohibited.ResultsUsing the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform, two libraries prepared from non-grazing (FS) and overgrazing samples (OS) were sequenced. De novo assembly produced 94,674 unigenes, of which 65,047 unigenes had BLAST hits in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) non-redundant (nr) database (E-value < 10-5). In total, 47,747, 26,156 and 40,842 unigenes were assigned to the Gene Ontology (GO), Clusters of Orthologous Group (COG), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, respectively. A total of 13,221 unigenes showed significant differences in expression under the overgrazing condition, with a threshold false discovery rate ≤ 0.001 and an absolute value of log2Ratio ≥ 1. These differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were assigned to 43,257 GO terms and were significantly enriched in 32 KEGG pathways (q-value ≤ 0.05). The alterations in the wound-, drought- and defense-related genes indicate that stressors have an additive effect on the growth inhibition of this species.ConclusionsThis first large-scale transcriptome study will provide important information for further gene expression and functional genomics studies, and it facilitated our investigation of the molecular mechanisms of the S. grandis grazing response and the associated morphological and physiological characteristics.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

De novo Assembly and Transcriptomic Profiling of the Grazing Response in Stipa grandis

Wan

Hou

et al. 2015

PLoS ONE

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“…Clonal units in such species not only share resources and photosynthates but also absorb negative effects of physical stress, competition, and herbivory, enabling alpine plants to respond to environmental changes (Klimešová et al, ; Lei, ). At habitat level, the inter‐species competition is overlaid by the facilitative role of surrounding vegetation (Ballantyne & Pickering, ; Wang, Liang, & Wang, ). Delivery of shade and shelter, moisture retention, nutrient accumulation, temperature regulation, and defense against herbivory and physical damage are important services that can be offered by the surrounding vegetation (Ballantyne & Pickering, ; Callaway et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvest effects on density and biomass of Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora vary along environmental gradients in the Nepalese Himalayas

Poudeyal

Meilby

Shrestha

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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A surprisingly large number of species potentially threatened by human harvest lack quantitative ecological studies incorporating harvest effects, especially clonal species in the alpine Himalayas. We studied density and biomass variation of a threatened medicinal herb, Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora, to examine the effect of harvest on plant performance. The study covered two regions with contrasting harvest situations—one with open‐access and another protected from commercial harvesting. Four populations from each region were compared along an elevation gradient (3,800–4,800 m). Also, we conducted in situ interviews with 165 and 38 medicinal and aromatic plant users in open‐access and protected regions, respectively, to assess the collection and use patterns of the target species. The quantity harvested per household for traditional healthcare use was similar in both regions. We found no evidence of trade‐driven collection in the protected region but in the open‐access region a trade‐based annual collection of 35–465 kg dried rhizomes per household had a strong negative effect on both density and biomass. In the protected region, the effect of harvest intensity on plant density was positive for vegetative and negative for reproductive individuals, whereas in the open‐access region, the effect was negative for both vegetative and reproductive individuals. The results indicated that a low harvest intensity had no adverse impact on N. scrophulariiflora populations; however, quantification of the optimum level of harvest remains to be explored. Shrub vegetation appeared to buffer the harvest impact on plant density, possibly through the retention of additional moisture. To maintain population viability, we suggest regulating harvest, for example, by introducing rotational harvest systems, ensuring that a sufficient number of reproductive individuals are left as a source of propagules in each harvested population and that populations are given time to recover between harvests.

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“…The overgrazed area was next to the fenced area and had been freely grazed over a long period by sheep. This area was seriously degraded, and the dominant species were Artemisia frigida and Cleistogenes squarrosa (Wang et al., 2014; Yin et al., 2010).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Common response of dominant plants in typical grassland of Inner Mongolia to long‐term overgrazing revealed by transcriptome analysis

Wan

Ren

et al. 2021

Grassland Science

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Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. and Stipa grandis P. Smirn. are dominant species in grassland on the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia. Long‐term overgrazing, which is considered to represent multiple stresses, reduces the growth of L. chinensis and S. grandis. To gain an understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the responses of these plants to overgrazing, we explored the gene expression profiles of L. chinensis and S. grandis to discover the common features of these dominant plants in response to overgrazing. Using the Illumina RNA‐Seq platform, two sequencing libraries prepared from non‐grazed (Lc‐NG) and overgrazed samples (Lc‐OG) of L. chinensis were sequenced. Using Trinity software assembly, 129,087 unigenes with a mean length of 693 bp and an N50 of 1,093 bp were obtained by combining the Lc‐NG and Lc‐OG data. By comparing differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of L. chinensis with those of S. grandis, we identified 16 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways and 15 Gene Ontology terms that were significantly enriched with DEGs in both species. Most of these DEG‐enriched pathways, for example, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and flavonoid biosynthesis, were related to stress responses. The results suggest that stress plays an important role in plants’ responsiveness to long‐term overgrazing and associated reductions in plant growth. The DEGs shared by these two species will be valuable for further research on key genes and molecular mechanisms involved in plants’ adaptation to overgrazing and associated stresses.

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Balance between facilitation and competition determines spatial patterns in a plant population

Cited by 15 publications

References 45 publications

De novo Assembly and Transcriptomic Profiling of the Grazing Response in Stipa grandis

De novo Assembly and Transcriptomic Profiling of the Grazing Response in Stipa grandis

Harvest effects on density and biomass of Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora vary along environmental gradients in the Nepalese Himalayas

Common response of dominant plants in typical grassland of Inner Mongolia to long‐term overgrazing revealed by transcriptome analysis

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