Environmental factors covary with plant diversity–productivity relationships among Chinese grassland sites

Ma, Wenqi; He, Jin‐Sheng; Yang, Yuanhe; Wang, Xiangping; Liang, Cunzhu; Mohammat, Anwar; Zeng, Hui; Fang, Jingyun; Schmid, Bernhard

doi:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2009.00508.x

Cited by 168 publications

(200 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…In comparing the different formations, K. tibetica meadows have the highest forage quantity followed by A. splendens steppes, while the S. klemenzii steppes have the lowest quantity. These results correspond well with previous studies [20]. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has been considered as having low forage quantity because of the cold climate and short growing season [24,33,34].…”

Section: Patterns Of Forage Quantity and Quality In China's Grasslandssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…These data were compiled from the 1950-2000 temperature/precipitation records in a global climate database with a spatial resolution of 0.0083° [20,27].…”

Section: Climate and Soil Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Until now, through several approaches such as transect surveys, remote sensing and ecological model simulation, Chinese researches have devoted a great amount of effort to investigating the patterns, dynamics and factors influencing grassland productivity in China at local, regional and national scales [15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. However, these studies rarely focused on the nutritional value of forage dry matter; thus they might be insufficient as a reference when making scientific policies and management strategies related to animal husbandry.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Large scale patterns of forage yield and quality across Chinese grasslands

Shi

et al. 2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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Understanding the patterns of forage quantity and quality and investigating the factors influencing these patterns are essential for the development of animal husbandry. However, there is very little field evidence focused on these issues at a large spatial scale. In the current study, we analyzed forage quantity and quality at 177 sites distributed in all the major grassland types across China, and explored the relationship between forage quantity and quality based on consistent sampling protocols. We also investigated potential factors influencing forage quality patterns across China. Our study indicates the Tibetan grasslands had both higher quantity and quality forage than the Inner Mongolian grasslands, and alpine meadow had the best quantity and quality forage because of the meadow's high productivity and the crude protein and nitrogen free extract content of the meadow forage. For the main vegetation formations, Kobresia tibetica meadows and Achnatherum splendens steppes had the highest quantity, while Kobresia pygmaea meadows and Kobresia humilis meadows had the best quality. We also found that although environmental factors, such as temperature and soil fertility, could affect physiological processes and so influence forage quality, the large scale patterns of change were mainly a result of the differences in vegetation types. Finally, we reported a negative relationship between forage quantity and quality: higher forage quantity means more crude fiber but less ether extract and crude protein. These findings improve our understanding on the spatial patterns of forage quantity and quality, and provide solid evidence related to the future development of animal husbandry.

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Section: Patterns Of Forage Quantity and Quality In China's Grasslandssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…These data were compiled from the 1950-2000 temperature/precipitation records in a global climate database with a spatial resolution of 0.0083° [20,27].…”

Section: Climate and Soil Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Large scale patterns of forage yield and quality across Chinese grasslands

Shi

et al. 2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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“…These data were obtained from the world climate data information website (http://www.worldclim.org) with spatial resolution of 0.0083 (about 1 km 2 in place near the equator) [31,32].…”

Section: Climatic and Edaphic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and determinants of wood physical and mechanical properties across major tree species in China

Zhu

Shi

Fang

et al. 2015

Sci. China Life Sci.

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The physical and mechanical properties of wood affect the growth and development of trees, and also act as the main criteria when determining wood usage. Our understanding on patterns and controls of wood physical and mechanical properties could provide benefits for forestry management and bases for wood application and forest tree breeding. However, current studies on wood properties mainly focus on wood density and ignore other wood physical properties. In this study, we established a comprehensive database of wood physical properties across major tree species in China. Based on this database, we explored spatial patterns and driving factors of wood properties across major tree species in China. Our results showed that (i) compared with wood density, air-dried density, tangential shrinkage coefficient and resilience provide more accuracy and higher explanation power when used as the evaluation index of wood physical properties. (ii) Among life form, climatic and edaphic variables, life form is the dominant factor shaping spatial patterns of wood physical properties, climatic factors the next, and edaphic factors have the least effects, suggesting that the effects of climatic factors on spatial variations of wood properties are indirectly induced by their effects on species distribution. wood density, shrinkage coefficient, resilience, geographic pattern, environmental factors Citation:Zhu JL, Shi Y, Fang LQ, Liu XE, Ji CJ. Patterns and determinants of wood physical and mechanical properties across major tree species in China.

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“…The temperate grasslands of the Inner Mongolian Plateau are mainly in arid and semi-arid regions; the dry habitat has high growing season temperatures, and plant growth is predominantly determined by precipitation [3]. The climate of the alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau is mainly affected by the northwest monsoon; the humid habitat has lower growing season temperatures, and plant growth is limited by the low temperatures [4,5]. Our question was whether leaf anatomy in the alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau was different from that in the temperate grasslands of the Inner Mongolian Plateau.…”

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Comparative analyses of leaf anatomy of dicotyledonous species in Tibetan and Inner Mongolian grasslands

Han

et al. 2012

Sci. China Life Sci.

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Knowledge of the leaf anatomy of grassland plants is crucial for understanding how these plants adapt to the environment. Tibetan alpine grasslands and Inner Mongolian temperate grasslands are two major grassland types in northern China. Tibetan alpine grasslands occur in high-altitude regions where the low temperatures limit plant growth. Inner Mongolian temperate grasslands are found in arid regions where moisture is the limiting factor. Few comparative studies concerning the leaf anatomy of grassland plants of the Tibetan Plateau and Inner Mongolian Plateau have been conducted. We examined leaf characteristics at 71 sites and among 65 species, across the alpine grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau and the temperate grasslands of the Inner Mongolian Plateau. We compared the leaf structures of plants with different life forms and taxonomies, and their adaptation to arid or cold environments. We explored relationships among leaf features and the effects of climatic factors (i.e., growing season temperature and precipitation) on leaf characteristics. Our results showed that (i) there were significant differences in leaf anatomy between Tibetan alpine and Inner Mongolian temperate grasslands. Except for mesophyll cell density, the values obtained for thickness of leaf tissue, surface area and volume of mesophyll cells were larger on the Tibetan Plateau than on the Inner Mongolian Plateau. (ii) Within the same family or genus, leaf anatomy showed significant differences between two regions, and trends were consistent with those of whole species. (iii) Leaf anatomy of woody and herbaceous plants also showed significant differences between the regions. Except for mesophyll cell density, the values obtained for the thickness of leaf tissue, and the surface area and volume of mesophyll cells were larger in herbaceous than in woody plants. (iv) Leaf anatomical traits changed accordingly. Total leaf thickness, thicknesses of lower and upper epidermal cells, and surface area and volume of mesophyll cells were positively correlated, while mesophyll cell density was negatively associated with those traits. (v) Growing season temperature had stronger effects on leaf anatomy than growing season precipitation. Although the communities in Tibetan and Inner Mongolian grasslands were similar in appearance, leaf anatomy differed; this was probably due to the combined effects of evolutionary adaptation of plants to environment and environmental stress induced by climatic factors.

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Environmental factors covary with plant diversity–productivity relationships among Chinese grassland sites

Cited by 168 publications

References 62 publications

Large scale patterns of forage yield and quality across Chinese grasslands

Large scale patterns of forage yield and quality across Chinese grasslands

Patterns and determinants of wood physical and mechanical properties across major tree species in China

Comparative analyses of leaf anatomy of dicotyledonous species in Tibetan and Inner Mongolian grasslands

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