Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ding Yang, Xiao Pan Pang, Zhi Feng Jia, Zheng Gang Guo
Summary: The study evaluated the impact of small subterranean mammals, plateau zokor, on soil carbon and nitrogen concentrations in alpine meadows. Results showed differences in soil carbon and nitrogen concentrations between undisturbed soil, mound soil, and edge soil, indicating possible recovery mechanisms in disturbed areas. This study provides insights into how the presence of small subterranean mammals can influence soil carbon and nitrogen in grasslands.
Article
Ecology
Chao Yang, Juan Sun
Summary: This study investigates the impact of overgrazing on soil properties and plant succession in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Changes in soil properties, particularly soil pH and bulk density, play a significant role in influencing plant community structure and composition with grassland degradation. Future research should focus on key species and soil properties in degraded grasslands.
JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chimin Lai, Chengyang Li, Fei Peng, Xian Xue, Quangang You, Wenjuan Zhang, Shaoxiu Ma
Summary: It was found that the surface soil organic carbon of alpine meadows gradually decreased with land degradation, and changes in plant communities led to alterations in soil organic carbon quality, affecting the loss of soil carbon. Overall, the study suggests that changes in heterotrophic respiration moderated by soil carbon quality alteration due to plant community shifting could be one mechanism for soil carbon loss before moderate degradation, but not the main pathway for soil organic carbon loss at severe and very severe degradation levels.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rui Yin, Wenkuan Qin, Xudong Wang, Dong Xie, Hao Wang, Hongyang Zhao, Zhenhua Zhang, Jin-Sheng He, Martin Schaedler, Paul Kardol, Nico Eisenhauer, Biao Zhu
Summary: Experimental soil warming in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau showed that it promoted plant growth, soil microbial respiration, and soil fauna feeding. However, it caused changes in their phenology, creating mismatches between organisms. This phenological asynchrony may have implications for ecosystem functioning and stability.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Zhenchao Zhang, Tianyu Zhan, Yanpeng Li, Yi Wang, Ting Yu, Juan Sun
Summary: Grassland degradation leads to a decrease in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock, with a larger reduction in alpine meadows compared to alpine steppes. The variation in SOC stock is positively correlated with belowground biomass in both alpine meadows and steppes, and with aboveground biomass only in alpine steppes. The relationship between change rates in SOC stock and initial SOC stock and mean annual precipitation is negative during lightly and moderately degraded stages, but becomes nonsignificant during heavily degraded stage. These findings have implications for sustainable management practices of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
YunFei Zhao, Xia Wang, Fei Chen, Jia Li, JinHong Wu, YuXin Sun, YuanYe Zhang, Tao Deng, SiLong Jiang, XiaoHe Zhou, HuiYing Liu
Summary: In this study, the link between aboveground biomass (AGB) and soil organic matter (SOM) across 209 alpine grassland sites on the Tibetan Plateau was evaluated. It was found that AGB decreased with increasing aridity severity above a threshold of 0.37. Additionally, a stronger positive relationship between AGB and SOM was observed in more arid conditions beyond an aridity threshold of 0.64. The results highlight the importance of soil carbon sequestration strategies for biomass production and climate change mitigation in arid areas.
Article
Soil Science
Renske Jongen, S. Emilia Hannula, Jonathan R. De Long, Robin Heinen, Martine Huberty, Katja Steinauer, T. Martijn Bezemer
Summary: This study investigated the plant species-specific microbial communities as mediators of soil legacies, finding that soil legacy effects on decomposition and soil decomposer community composition were most evident shortly after the start of the feedback phase, but disappeared after the establishment of a new plant community. Soil conditioning time and years since disturbance consistently affected soil functions, with no strong effects observed from plant functional group and growth strategy. Recovery time, rather than soil legacy effects, was identified as the most important factor driving soil functions after disturbance.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chunli Li, Yonghui Li, Xinwei Li, Li Ma, Yuanming Xiao, Chunhui Zhang
Summary: The study found that nitrogen (N) addition significantly promoted plant aboveground biomass in alpine grassland ecosystems, with a stronger response in restored grasslands compared to natural grasslands. In addition, the results suggested that climate warming could enhance plant biomass allocation to belowground under ongoing N deposition and highlighted the importance of precipitation for plant growth and aboveground biomass accumulation in restored alpine grasslands.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhen Cheng, Jingxue Zhao, Luming Ding, Zhi-Hua Shi, Paul Kardol, Gao-Lin Wu
Summary: The findings of this study demonstrate that climate factors are more important than species richness for the provisioning of ecosystem functions at large spatial scales. In summary, this study underscores the importance of considering climate factors alongside species richness when assessing ecosystem functioning across extensive geographical areas.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Danghui Xu, Wenbo Mou, Xiejun Wang, Ruiying Zhang, Tianpeng Gao, Dexiecuo Ai, Jianli Yuan, Renyi Zhang, Xiangwen Fang
Summary: Grassland degeneration significantly decreases net CO2 uptake, gross primary productivity, ecosystem respiration, plant respiration, and heterotrophic respiration. Degradation also alters the carbon balance of the ecosystem, further impacting carbon-climate feedbacks.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
YunFei Zhao, Xia Wang, SiLong Jiang, JinJin Xiao, Jia Li, XiaoHe Zhou, HuiYing Liu, ZhiGuo Hao, KaiChang Wang
Summary: The relationship between plant productivity and diversity is crucial for understanding ecosystem functions. This study conducted investigations in alpine grassland sites on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and found that plant species richness and aboveground biomass exhibited a positive relationship. Factors such as precipitation, altitude, soil nitrogen content, and soil cation exchange capacity had significant effects on vegetation characteristics. Drought and low soil development limited plant productivity, highlighting the importance of conserving diversity in vulnerable ecosystems.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jinlan Wang, Wen Li, Wenxia Cao, Theophilus Atio Abalori, Yuzhen Liu, Yuqiong Xin, Shilin Wang, Degang Zhang
Summary: The research showed that grazing exclusion has minimal impact on soil bacterial alpha-diversity, while soil bacterial community composition is significantly influenced by soil chemical properties. The higher plant community alpha-diversity and soil nutrition in alpine shrublands did not result in higher soil bacterial alpha-diversity.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yu-Te Lin, William B. Whitman, David C. Coleman, Shih-Hao Jien, Hsueh-Ching Wang, Chih-Yu Chiu
Summary: The study found significant differences in bacterial community composition between coniferous forest and grassland soils at the treeline, with correlations to soil pH, organic C, and C/N. Historical vegetation types also had a significant impact on the abundance of certain bacterial groups.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jinsheng Li, Yinquan Zhao, Xinqing Shao, Ding Huang, Jianying Shang, Hui Li, Yixuan He, Kesi Liu
Summary: Nitrogen addition alone did not significantly change soil properties, but increased soil water content, available phosphorus, and the biomass of bacteria and fungi. Biochar addition or the mixture of biochar and nitrogen increased the content of essential nutrients in the soil and changed the structure of the soil microbial community. The mixed addition of biochar and nitrogen was more effective in improving the soil condition of the degraded alpine grassland compared to nitrogen addition alone.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Jinsheng Li, Hui Li, Jianying Shang, Kesi Liu, Yixuan He, Xinqing Shao
Summary: The attenuation of soil organic carbon and the destruction of soil microbial structure are common manifestations of grassland degradation. The addition of exogenous organic carbon and microorganisms may be an effective way to quickly restore degraded grassland, and the combination of biochar and effective microorganisms shows a synergistic effect in the restoration process.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Xiao Pan Pang, Zheng Gang Guo
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Xiao Pan Pang, Zheng Gang Guo
Article
Soil Science
Xiao Pan Pang, Qian Wang, Jing Zhang, Hai Peng Xu, Wen Na Zhang, Juan Wang, Zheng Gang Guo
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiao Pan Pang, Qian Wang, Zheng Gang Guo
Summary: The study shows that small burrowing herbivores, like the plateau pika, can impact the relationship between plant species richness and plant aboveground biomass in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The disturbance from plateau pikas leads to an increase in plant species richness, while not affecting plant aboveground biomass. In disturbed plots, plant species richness peaks at intermediate levels of plant aboveground biomass.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)