Canopy structure: An intermediate factor regulating grassland diversity-function relationships under human disturbances

Zhao, Xiaoxia; Feng, Yuhao; Xu, Kuiying; Cao, Mengmeng; Hu, Shuya; Yang, Qiuli; Liu, Xiaoqiang; Ma, Qin; Hu, Tianyu; Kelly, Maggi; Su, Yanjun

doi:10.1016/j.fmre.2022.10.007

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…In addition, considering the influence of guidelines and grassland quality, the effect of guidelines and herders' knowledge of grasslands were selected as explanatory variables. The grazing rate was used to characterize the intensity of grazing, which is the ratio of the number of livestock actually grazed per hectare to that in a sustainable grazing scheme [42]. Thanks to the recommended forage-livestock balance, well-perceived or sustainable numbers of livestock could be easily accessed in research regions.…”

Section: Variable Selection and Data Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Livestock Production on Grassland Grasshopper Disasters

Liu,

Chen,

et al. 2024

Agronomy

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Grasshopper disasters threaten grassland animal husbandry, and overgrazing is widely recognized as one of the main causes of locust infestation in grassland regions. However, the impact of overgrazing on grasshopper disasters remains unclear. To address this knowledge gap, this study interviewed 541 households living in locust-prone areas in Inner Mongolia, China. The generalized Poisson model and OLS regression examined the relationship between herders’ production behavior and locust disasters. The results showed that 42% of the herders had suffered from locusts more than three times over the past 15 years, with an average of 49 ha of grassland damaged per household. In addition, with the increase in grazing rates, the scale of locust disasters decreased before it increased. The results also showed that operating grassland areas and feeding forage reduced locust disasters significantly, while renting grassland areas and grazing rates worked oppositely. These results suggest that grazing intensity can make a significant difference in the occurrence of locust disasters.

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Section: Variable Selection and Data Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Livestock Production on Grassland Grasshopper Disasters

Liu,

Chen,

et al. 2024

Agronomy

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“…Crown structure, namely three-dimensional component morphological crown characteristics (i.e., spatial culm, branch, and leaf configurations), is an important factor that directly influences bamboo forest stand functions and productivity [70]. Generally, crown morphology in different bamboo species can significantly differ.…”

Section: Relationship Between Aboveground Components and Environmenta...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Aboveground Biomass Component Plasticity and Allocation Variations of Bamboo (Pleioblastus amarus) of Different Regions

Zuo,

Fan,

Guo

et al. 2023

Forests

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Bamboo is one of the most important forest resources, widely distributed throughout subtropical and tropical regions. Many studies have focused on bamboo functional trait variation under different environmental conditions. However, the functional feature response of bamboo components to regional and climatic factors and associated coupling effects are less known. This study analyzed phenotypic plasticity and biomass accumulation and allocation processes in aboveground Pleioblastus amarus components (i.e., the culm, branch, and leaf) with principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in three regions of China. Consequently, obvious regional differences were observed in phenotypic plasticity, biomass accumulation, and allocation processes. With decreasing latitude and increasing longitude, the internode length was longer for larger and rounder bamboo and the culm wall was thinner at a lower relative total height. Moreover, the number and width of crowns became greater, thicker, and longer. With increasing latitude, branch and leaf biomass decreased significantly, while biomass allocation to bamboo branches and leaves first decreased before increasing. And with increasing longitude, culm and total biomass reduced significantly along with culm biomass allocation, while total branch and leaf biomass allocation gradually decreased. Clearly, climatic factors, such as maximum temperature and mean annual temperature, directly affected the phenotypic plasticity of P. amarus and its associative biomass accumulation. Meanwhile, soil factors (i.e., soil available phosphorus, capillary porosity, field water holding capacity, and total nitrogen content) caused significant variation in phenotypic plasticity, indirectly affecting plant biomass accumulation and allocation processes. Collectively, these initial findings indicate that low-latitude and high-longitude stands promoted greater morphogenesis and more efficient biomass accumulation and allocation in aboveground P. amarus components, exhibiting superior morpho-plasticity and higher stand productivity. This study clarified regional differences in P. amarus morphological phenotypic plasticity and biomass accumulation and allocation. It is expected that the results can aid in provenance selection and the directional cultivation of high-yield bamboo stands.

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“…Alpine wetlands are among the most vulnerable grassland systems to climate change, and Wang et al demonstrated that biogeomorphic succession and lateral carbon exchange are both important for understanding the long-term dynamics of the climate footprint [6] . Using a state-of-the-art terrestrial laser scanning technique, Zhao et alshowed that canopy structure is an important intermediary factor regulating grassland diversity- net primary productivity relationships under human disturbances [7] . Finally, two articles used manipulated experimental approaches to assess how grassland ecosystems responded to global changes.…”

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confidence: 99%