Variation characteristics of different plant functional groups in alpine desert steppe of the Altun Mountains, northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract

In grassland ecosystems, the plant functional group (PFG) is an important bridge connecting individual plants to the community system. The grassland ecosystem is the main ecosystem type on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Altun Mountain is located in the key grassland transcontinental belt of the northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The composition and changes in the PFG in this ecosystem reflect the community characteristics in the arid and semi-arid extreme climate regions of the Plateau. The main PFGs were forbs and grasses, and the importance values (IVs) accounted for more than 50%. Plant species diversity of the community was influenced by the IV of the legumes, and the increase in legumes would promote the increase in plant community diversity. The C, N, and P contents of plant communities were mainly influenced by forbs and grasses, and the relationship between forbs and C, N, and P was opposite to that of grasses. However, under the influence of different hydrothermal conditions, forbs and grasses as dominant functional groups had a stronger correlation with community and soil nutrients. This indicates that the dominant PFGs (forbs and grasses) can dominate the C, N, and P contents of the community and soil, and legumes affect community composition and succession. In this study, we analyzed the changing characteristics of functional groups in dry and cold extreme environments and the difference in their impacts on community development compared with other grassland ecosystem functional groups.

An Analysis of Functional Groups and Potential Values of Herbaceous Species of Grasslands in West Timor, Indonesia

“…However, further research is needed to confirm this. Research conducted by Zhang et al, (2022) concerning the variations in the characteristics of different plant functional groups in the northern Qinghai-Tibet grasslands identified 22 species, which were divided into four groups according to their functional groups, namely forbs, grasses, legumes, and sedges. They found that grassland communities were dominated by forbs and grasses, which accounted for more than 50% of the importance value to the community.…”

“…In general, the percentage of forbs and grasses in the grasslands of West Timor was relatively higher compared to the grasslands of northern Qinghai-Tibet. According to Zhang et al, (2022), the grasslands of northern Qinghai-Tibet have a dry and cold climate, so the dominant community functional groups were grasses and forbs. This was mainly due to forbs having strong adaptability to dry environments and grasses having a conservative resource use strategy and being very cold tolerant, so grasses and forbs can adapt well to upland environments.…”

Assessment of Land Desertification and Its Drivers in Semi-Arid Alpine Mountains: A Case Study of the Qilian Mountains Region, Northwest China

“…As a result, the large-scale desertification differentiation process in the semi-arid alpine highlands is a complex process combining multi-media participation and multi-level driving. Compared with the traditional studies on desertification in dry land habitats, desertification in semi-arid alpine ranges at numerous temporal and spatial scales is more intricate, distinctive, and unique [28,29]. It is surprising that the dynamics and underlying processes of desertification risk in semi-arid alpine highlands have received little attention to far.…”