Policy shifts influence the functional changes of the CNH systems on the Mongolian plateau

Chen, Jiquan; John, Ranjeet; Shao, Changliang; Fan, Yi; Zhang, Yaoqi; Amartuvshin, Amarjargal; Brown, Daniel G.; Qi, Jiaguo; Han, Jianqiao; Lafortezza, Raffaele; Dong, Gang

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085003

Cited by 78 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…For the simulation of herbivore population dynamics in Mongolia, we developed a scalar that accounted for anthropogenic changes associated with policy shifts (Chen et al, ). After the collapse of former Soviet Union in the early1990s, Mongolia transitioned to private herd ownership, which resulted in a dramatic increase in herbivore populations (Johnson et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into a Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into the Earth System

Dangal

Tian

Lü

et al. 2017

J Adv Model Earth Syst

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Mammalian herbivores are an essential component of grassland and savanna ecosystems, and with feedbacks to the climate system. To date, the response and feedbacks of mammalian herbivores to changes in both abiotic and biotic factors are poorly quantified and not adequately represented in the current global land surface modeling framework. In this study, we coupled herbivore population dynamics in a global land model (the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model, DLEM 3.0) to simulate populations of horses, cattle, sheep, and goats, and their responses to changes in multiple environmental factors at the site level across different continents during 1980–2010. Simulated results show that the model is capable of reproducing observed herbivore population dynamics across all sites for these animal groups. Our simulation results also indicate that during this period, climate extremes led to a maximum mortality of 27% of the total herbivores in Mongolia. Across all sites, herbivores reduced aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and heterotrophic respiration (Rh) by 14% and 15%, respectively (p < 0.05). With adequate parameterization, the model can be used for historical assessment and future prediction of mammalian herbivore populations and their relevant impacts on biogeochemical cycles. Our simulation results demonstrate a strong coupling between primary producers and consumers, indicating that inclusion of herbivores into the global land modeling framework is essential to better understand the potentially large effect of herbivores on carbon cycles in grassland and savanna ecosystems.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into a Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into the Earth System

Dangal

Tian

Lü

et al. 2017

J Adv Model Earth Syst

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“…They also influence the microclimate (Shao et al, ) and associated plant traits, such as plant height and specific leaf area (Reisch & Poschlod, ), which in turn will affect plant reproductive phenology (Benot et al, ). More importantly, increases in mowing intensity not only have profound consequences for grassland ecosystems (Shao, Chen, & Li, ) but can also increase the sensitivity of grassland ecosystems to climate change (Chen, John, Shao, et al, ). Here, we hypothesize that mowing may interact with global warming and reduce ecosystem resilience to extreme weather (Benot et al, ) thereby further exacerbating the effects of HWs on ecosystem carbon and water fluxes (Gourlez de la Motte et al, ; Qu et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Joint forcing by heat waves and mowing poses a threat to grassland ecosystems: Evidence from a manipulative experiment

Dong

Boeck

et al. 2019

Land Degrad Dev

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The frequency and intensity of heat waves (HWs) have increased in recent years, but it remains unclear how grassland ecosystems respond to such extreme weather. A 3‐year manipulative field experiment was conducted to simulate HWs under different mowing intensities in a Stipa krylovii steppe on the Mongolian Plateau to examine their effects on plant morphology, phenology, and community. At the species level, the morphology and phenology of the three main herb species (S. krylovii, Melilotoides ruthenica, and Potentilla tanacetifolia) showed species‐specific responses to the HW and mowing treatments. The major dominant species S. krylovii shed ~50% of the tiller outer layer to protect the internal tiller from HW stress thereby directly decreasing the heat load and water loss from green plant tissue and indirectly increasing the litter biomass. HWs also caused increases of community index (richness, diversity, and evenness) but also associated with a 30% decrease in the importance value of S. krylovii, whereas mowing enhanced this value by 27%. When HWs were combined with mowing, the joint forcing of mechanical damage and low carbon accumulation aggravated negative effects of stress on plant health and growth, which further decreased community index. We constructed a framework to fully describe the effects of HWs and mowing and their interrelationship on different ecological levels and explain how short‐term effects, such as extreme climate, produce long‐term effects on ecosystems. In conclusion, we found that synergisms between climate extremes (HWs) and human activities (mowing) can reduce ecosystem stability posing a threat to the grasslands.

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“…Quantifying the energy fluxes of grazed and ungrazed desert steppes is therefore an essential step for understanding the role of semiarid temperate grasslands in local‐to‐global climate and land use changes (Chen et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing effects on surface energy fluxes in a desert steppe on the Mongolian Plateau

Shao

Chen

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Quantifying the surface energy fluxes of grazed and ungrazed steppes is essential to understand the roles of grasslands in local and global climate and in land use change. We used paired eddy-covariance towers to investigate the effects of grazing on energy balance (EB) components: net radiation (R ), latent heat (LE), sensible heat (H), and soil heat (G) fluxes on adjacent grazed and ungrazed areas in a desert steppe of the Mongolian Plateau for a two-year period (2010-2012). Near 95% of R was partitioned as LE and H, whereas the contributions of G and other components of the EB were 5% at an annual scale. H dominated the energy partitioning and shared ~50% of R . When comparing the grazed and the ungrazed desert steppe, there was remarkably lower R and a lower H, but higher G at the grazed site than at the ungrazed site. Both reduced available energy (R - G) and H indicated a "cooling effect" feedback onto the local climate through grazing. Grazing reduced the dry year LE but enhanced the wet year LE. Energy partitioning of LE/R was positively correlated with the canopy conductivity, leaf area index, and soil moisture. H/R was positively correlated with the vapor pressure deficit but negatively correlated with the soil moisture. Boosted regression tree results showed that LE/R was dominated by soil moisture in both years and at both sites, while grazing shifted the H/R domination from temperature to soil moisture in the wet year. Grazing not only caused an LE shift between the dry and the wet year, but also triggered a decrease in the H/R because of changes in vegetation and soil properties, indicating that the ungrazed area had a greater resistance while the grazed area had a greater sensitivity of EB components to the changing climate.

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Policy shifts influence the functional changes of the CNH systems on the Mongolian plateau

Abstract: By applying the concept of the coupled natural and human system (CNH), we compared spatiotemporal changes in livestock (LSK), land cover, and ecosystem production to understand the relative roles that natural and social driving forces have on CNH dynamics on the Mongolia plateau.

Cited by 78 publications

References 37 publications

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into a Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into the Earth System

Integrating Herbivore Population Dynamics Into a Global Land Biosphere Model: Plugging Animals Into the Earth System

Joint forcing by heat waves and mowing poses a threat to grassland ecosystems: Evidence from a manipulative experiment

Grazing effects on surface energy fluxes in a desert steppe on the Mongolian Plateau

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