Climate warming alters nitrogen dynamics and total non-structural carbohydrate accumulations of perennial herbs of distinctive functional groups during the plant senescence in autumn in an alpine meadow of the Tibetan Plateau, China

Shi, Changguang; Silva, Lucas C. R.; Zhang, Hongxuan; Zheng, Qunying; Xiao, Bingxue; Wu, Ning; Sun, Geng

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.09.006

Cited by 43 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Our study showed that warming improved rangeland quality, through increased plant nutrient content (forage quality), rather than increased plant biomass (forage production). Similar observations have been made in other studies from the Tibetan plateau (Li et al, 2011;Shi et al, 2015) and Arctic tundra (Chapin, Shaver, Giblin, Nadelhoffer, & Laundre, 1995;Welker, Fahnestock, Sullivan, & Chimner, 2005), however, the mechanisms were different. Warming improved forage quality mainly due to accelerated net nitrogen (N) mineralization and increased available soil nutrients in Arctic tundra (Natali, Schuur, & Rubin, 2012), but this was not the case in our system, where no detectable effect on net N mineralization under warming treatment has been observed (Wang et al, 2012).…”

Section: Increased Rangeland Quality Due To Warminginduced Communitsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Rather, we found that a shift in community composition towards increased legume biomass with high‐nutrient contents was responsible for the improved forage quality at community level (see Figure ). In addition, other mechanisms might also have contributed to this effect, including warming‐induced increases in N content during plant senescence as observed in other alpine grasslands (Shi et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Experimentally simulating warmer and wetter climate additively improves rangeland quality on the Tibetan Plateau

Zhu

Zhang

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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The vast expanses of rangeland on the Tibetan Plateau, which support the livelihood of c. 9.8 million local inhabitants, have experienced rapid climate warming over the past 50 years. At the same time, precipitation has increased in large parts of the Plateau but decreased in other parts, particularly in the northwest. These trends are predicted to continue into the future. However, their potential effects on rangeland quality remain unclear. We conducted a two‐factor field experiment in which we manipulated temperature (control or warming by 1.5–1.8°C) and precipitation (control or 50% reduction or increase in rainfall) in an alpine grassland on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, starting in 2011. From 2014 to 2016, we measured forage production and community composition, and in 2015 forage quality (crude protein, cell‐soluble contents, hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin and digestibility) was represented by seven abundant species. Overall, warming did not change total forage production at plant community level, but increased legume production and decreased non‐legume forb production. Increased and reduced precipitation enhanced and decreased forage production by 18.2% and 12.9% respectively. Increased precipitation in particular increased grass and sedge production, but not legume production. Forage quality showed species‐specific responses to the simulated climate changes. At community level, warming and reduced precipitation improved forage quality, which were mainly caused by a shift in community composition towards more legumes, rather than the direct effects of simulated climate changes. Meanwhile, increased precipitation did not reduce forage quality, despite the precipitation‐induced increase in forage production. Integrating forage production and quality into nutrient production as a measure of rangeland quality, we found that warming and increased precipitation additively improved rangeland quality, while reduced precipitation decreased it. Synthesis and applications. Rangeland quality, an important ecosystem provisioning service, will benefit from a warmer climate on the Tibetan Plateau in the regions with a predicted increase in precipitation, but not in those regions where precipitation might be reduced in the future. We suggest management strategies, including reseeding native legumes, establishing sustainable pastures and assisting the exchange of harvested forage, to cope with the challenges posed by these different climate change scenarios.

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Section: Increased Rangeland Quality Due To Warminginduced Communitsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Experimentally simulating warmer and wetter climate additively improves rangeland quality on the Tibetan Plateau

Zhu

Zhang

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…1). For the past three decades, its mean annual temperature was 0.9°C, with mean monthly temperature ranging from −10.3°C (January) to 10.9°C (July), and the precipitation fluctuates greatly among years, averaging about 690 mm each year, with 80% occurring during the growing season (May to August) (Shi et al 2015 MG; and heavy grazing, HG), based on factors including acreage, aboveground biomass, theoretical intakes of yak, and grazing time. The area of UG was 1.6 hm 2 , that of LG 4.2 hm 2 , that of MG 2.5 hm 2 , and that of HG 1.9 hm 2 ; the grazing intensity was 0, 0.7, 1.2, and 1.6 yaks hm −2 , respectively ( Table 1).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Soil properties and species composition under different grazing intensity in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Yang

Xiong

et al. 2016

Environ Monit Assess

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As the main form of land use and human disturbance of grassland, livestock grazing has great influences on the soil resources and plant communities. This study observed the variation of soil properties and community characteristics of four treatments of different grazing intensity (no grazing, UG; light grazing, LG; moderate grazing, MG; and heavy grazing, HG) in an alpine meadow of Sichuan Province on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that grazing increased the pH, soil bulk density (BD), and contents of total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN), and the BD increased while the others decreased with the grazing intensity. At the community level, with the increase of the grazing intensity, the vegetation coverage (R 2 = 0.61, P < 0.001), mean height of community (R 2 = 0.37, P < 0.001), aboveground biomass (R 2 = 0.54, P < 0.001), litter biomass (R 2 = 0.84, P < 0.001), and percentage of aboveground biomass of palatable grasses to total biomass (R 2 = 0.74, P < 0.001) significantly decreased, while the belowground biomass (R 2 = 0.72, P < 0.001) and the root/shoot (R/S) ratio (R 2 = 0.65, P < 0.001) increased. The species richness was the greatest at LG and the total biomass at UG. With grazing, the dominant species of the plant community shifted from palatable grasses (Gramineae and Cyperaceae) to unpalatable grasses (Compositae and Ranunculaceae). Based on the results, LG may be the optimal grassland management mode to be used in the long time in the alpine meadow of the Tibetan Plateau.

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“…Annual precipitation in this area is approximately 690 mm, with peak rainfall from May to August. The soil is classified as an alpine meadow soil according to the Chinese classification or Cryumbrept according to US Soil Taxonomy (Shi et al 2015).…”

Section: Study Site and Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the importance of this pathway in energy and nutrient cycling under field conditions, especially in alpine meadows, remains unclear. Alpine grasslands occupy approximately 94% of Northern Tibet and constitute a fragile ecosystem (Shi et al 2015). The natural environment of this region is extremely harsh, comprised of a long winter period and a relatively short growing season.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of root exudation and nutrient cycling to grazing intensities and recovery practices in an alpine meadow: An implication for pasture management

et al. 2017

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Climate warming alters nitrogen dynamics and total non-structural carbohydrate accumulations of perennial herbs of distinctive functional groups during the plant senescence in autumn in an alpine meadow of the Tibetan Plateau, China

Cited by 43 publications

References 56 publications

Experimentally simulating warmer and wetter climate additively improves rangeland quality on the Tibetan Plateau

Experimentally simulating warmer and wetter climate additively improves rangeland quality on the Tibetan Plateau

Soil properties and species composition under different grazing intensity in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau, China

Responses of root exudation and nutrient cycling to grazing intensities and recovery practices in an alpine meadow: An implication for pasture management

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