Drivers of aboveground biomass of high mountain vegetation in the Andes

Cabrera, Marian; Duivenvoorden, Joost F.

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2019.103504

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Warming and precipitation addition can induce many changes other than increases in temperature and moisture, such as changes in phenology, plant interactions and soil nutrient availability (Hou et al., 2013; Li N, et al., 2011; Wang et al., 2020), which can also alter plant biomass production (Cabrera & Duivenvoorden, 2020). Our results showed that the effects of warming on biomass production were different from the effects of soil temperature increase on biomass.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenological changes offset the warming effects on biomass production in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Ganjurjav

Gornish

et al. 2020

Journal of Ecology

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Phenology is an important indicator of plant responses to environmental changes and is closely correlated with biomass production. However, how changes in phenological events affect plant biomass production when exposed to changing temperature and precipitation remain unclear. We conducted a 4‐year manipulative experiment of warming and precipitation addition to explore phenology–biomass interactions under climate change in a dry alpine meadow on the central Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau from 2015 to 2018. In dry and warm years, warming delayed phenology and precipitation addition advanced them. Warming decreased the biomass of Kobresia pygmaea in 2018 and the biomass of Poa pratensis in 2015, 2017 and 2018. However, precipitation addition significantly increased the biomass of Poa pratensis and Potentilla multifida in most of the experimental years. Phenological changes regulated the responses of biomass to treatments. Specifically, delay of green up of P. pratensis and delay of withering of K. pygmaea induced by warming can increase biomass production, but it can be offset by the direct negative effects of warming on biomass. Synthesis. Here we show how warming‐induced drought tend to decrease the biomass production of graminoids and the negative effects of warming on the biomass of P. pratensis and K. pygmaea were partially offset by green up postponement and withering postponement respectively. Our results highlights phenology is a crucial regulator for biomass production under climate change. Hence, both direct and indirect effects of warming and precipitation addition on phenology and biomass cannot be ignored when predicting biomass responses to climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenological changes offset the warming effects on biomass production in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Ganjurjav

Gornish

et al. 2020

Journal of Ecology

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“…These conditions give it a fibrous phytomassproducing quality (Condori, 2019), which is little exploited by Andean livestock and thus prone to burning (Loydi et al, 2020). However, grasses include a diversity of species (Hu & Nacun, 2018), especially those of the genus Calamagrostis and Festucas that vary in size and primary production, from a few centimetres in height to 1.20 metres (Navarro, 2018;Yaranga, 2019;Cabrera & Duivenvoorden, 2020).…”

Section: Net Aerial Primary Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This scenario is generally covered by grasses, among a mosaic of plant formations such as: the tall growing species of the Poaceae family; the puna grasslands populated by upright and stunted species of the Poaceae, Aseteraceae, Cyperaceae, Rosaceae families, among others; the wetlands with the presence of aquatic and semi-aquatic species of the Juncaceae, Plantaginaceae, Apiaceae, Isoetaceae families, among others Gonnet et al, 2016;Yaranga et al, 2019). This Andean vegetation community is of great importance in the provision of fundamental ecosystem services for human life (Sun et al, 2017;Cabrera & Duivenvoorden, 2020); it also constitutes the natural base of the Andean livestock food resource, the main family economic activity, on which the survival and selfdevelopment of thousands of authentically rural families living in poverty depend (Fiallos, Herrera, & Velázquez, 2015;Yaranga, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Andean Grassland Species: Net Aerial Primary Productivity, Density, Ecomorphological Indices, and Soil Characteristics

Yaranga¹,

Vuure²,

Fuentes³

et al. 2021

J. Ecol. Eng.

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The tall grass vegetation in the Andean grassland ecosystems covers the largest area compared to other types of vegetation such as Puna grass, wetland and others. The grasslands are frequently set on fire by livestock farmer, seriously affecting the ecosystem. One way to mitigate this problem is to use these species as a source of plant fibre, which can be economically useful to the interests of the livestock family without affecting the ecosystem. To advance in this approach, it is necessary to know the functional characteristics of the plants; therefore, we evaluated the aerial primary productivity, plant density per m 2 , basal cover, aerial cover and leaf height, whose data were analysed using the generalised linear mixed model and the correlation between these variables with the physical-chemical characteristics of the soil, by means of principal component analysis and canonical correlation, in seven species of grassland and seven control plots, located between 3860 and 4333 metres above sea level. The results showed significant differences for p=0.001 between species, and between plots, and a canonical correlation grouped in two clusters that showed the differentiated importance of soil elements with the phytomass produced

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“…The increase in tussock height through time is also significant because it produces fuel for the next fire (Laegaard 1992). Cabrera & Duivenvoorden (2020) found vegetation height was a principal predictor of páramo above-ground plant biomass, and negatively related to specific leaf area. Our results demonstrated a rapid build-up of the proportion of dead leaves by the end of the tussock building phase, with a later build-up of biomass subsequently.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Physiognomic responses of páramo tussock grass to time since fire in northern Ecuador

Gutiérrez-Salazar

Ramsay

2020

Rev peru biol

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Ecologically-sound management plans for high-altitude grasslands of the Andes depend on an understanding the responses of plants to fire, especially the dominant tussock grasses. This study considers physiognomic responses of tussock grass in 13 sites in northern Ecuador with a known fire history, with time since fire 0.5–10 y, and a control site which had not been burned for at least 40 y. At each site, we assessed vegetation height, basal cover of the tussocks, and the ratio of dead:live leaves in tussocks. We also measured light at ground level. As recovery time increased, tussock cover and number decreased, while tussock height increased. Light levels fell sharply below the tussock canopies as recovery took place, and dead leaves accumulated quickly, reaching 60 – 70% by just two years after fire. The modification of physical tussock structure is likely to influence a much wider ecosystem response to fire, and determines directly the fuel load for future fires. Despite these clear changes in tussock characteristics, they were too variable to be used as a reliable bioindicator of time since fire. However, a better understanding of the responses of tussock grasses to fire and particularly its impact on other species should become the focus of further attention in future.

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Drivers of aboveground biomass of high mountain vegetation in the Andes

Cited by 12 publications

References 45 publications

Phenological changes offset the warming effects on biomass production in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Phenological changes offset the warming effects on biomass production in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Andean Grassland Species: Net Aerial Primary Productivity, Density, Ecomorphological Indices, and Soil Characteristics

Physiognomic responses of páramo tussock grass to time since fire in northern Ecuador

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