Article
Agronomy
Lan Li, Jing Zhang, Xiong Zhao He, Fujiang Hou
Summary: The study revealed that different types of excrement (urine, dung, and mixtures) have varying effects on the C:N:P stoichiometry of plants and soil. While mixtures increased aboveground biomass, they also led to higher soil nutrient accumulations compared to urine and dung alone.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jacob E. Lucero, Alessandro Filazzola, Ragan M. Callaway, Jenna Braun, Nargol Ghazian, Stephanie Haas, M. Florencia Miguel, Malory Owen, Merav Seifan, Mario Zuliani, Christopher J. Lortie
Summary: Earth's dryland ecosystems are facing increasing aridity and invasion by exotic plant species. Shrubs have positive effects on native plant communities, but these effects become more negative for exotic species as aridity increases.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Zhen Wang, Shenyi Jiang, Paul C. Struik, Hai Wang, Ke Jin, Riliga Wu, Risu Na, Huabing Mu, Na Ta
Summary: Different grazing intensities can lead to different changes in soil microbiome. Heavy and overgrazing significantly increase the relative abundances of certain bacteria and fungi, while light grazing decreases the relative abundance of other bacteria. The response of bacterial community to grazing is mainly driven by changes in perennial plant species and soil organic content, while the fungal community is mainly influenced by soil organic content and pH value.
Article
Agronomy
Dongyan Jin, Ruirui Yan, Linghao Li, Jiaguo Qi, Jiquan Chen, Hongbin Xu, Yuchun Yan, Xiaoping Xin
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the carbon allocations between the above- and belowground components of a grassland ecosystem in response to changes of stocking rate. Results showed a significantly greater decline in assimilated C-13 for heavily grazed swards compared to other stocking rates, indicating the highest relocation rate of C-13 into soil C pool. Light grazing, on the other hand, significantly allocated C-13 assimilates in the belowground pool, especially in live root and topsoil C-pools.
Article
Agronomy
Lan Li, Xiong Zhao He, Xiumin Zhang, Junqi Hu, Mengyuan Wang, Zhen Wang, Fujiang Hou
Summary: This study investigates the effects of herbivore grazing and nitrogen input on ecosystem multifunctionality, highlighting the role of plant diversity in maintaining key ecosystem functions. The findings reveal contrasting effects of grazing and nitrogen addition on ecosystem multifunctionality and emphasize the importance of plant diversity in balancing plant elements.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Feng Zhang, Jonathan A. Bennett, Bin Zhang, Zhongwu Wang, Zhiguo Li, Haigang Li, Jing Wang, Guodong Han, Mengli Zhao
Summary: Grasslands are important ecosystems supporting biodiversity and human livelihoods, but overgrazing has led to their degradation. This study examined the effects of grazing cessation on the temporal stability of plant community productivity in a desert steppe landscape. The results showed that grazing cessation increased the temporal stability of plant productivity, with species asynchrony and the temporal stability of shrubs/semi-shrubs being key drivers. Short-term grazing cessation had a greater impact on temporal stability than medium- or longer-term cessation.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Boyu Lei, Yaoyao Tian, Jifa Cui, Jin Zhao, Youbing Zhou
Summary: This study examined the effects of plant species richness on plant-bird interaction networks in a subtropical forest ecosystem along a 3000-m elevational gradient. The results showed that plant species richness decreased with elevation, leading to an increased specialization between birds and plants. This study provides empirical evidence for the impact of plant species richness on plant-bird interactions in subtropical forests.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Remigiusz Pielech
Summary: This study compared plant species richness in riparian forests in the Sudetes region across multiple watersheds, finding that riparian forests have a higher number of rare species and are the most species-rich at a regional scale. The longitudinal pattern of species richness was analyzed, showing a unimodal pattern of gamma diversity along the upstream-downstream gradient, with the effect of topographic variables on species richness varying depending on the position in the river network.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Yuping Rong, Thomas A. Monaco, Zhongkuan Liu, Mengli Zhao, Guodang Han
Summary: This study investigated the effects of four different grazing intensities on soil microbial biomass and community structure in a grassland ecosystem in Hebei Province, China. It found that soil microbial communities were significantly influenced by the interaction between grazing intensity and patch type, with bacterial communities being distinct from the non-grazed control under all grazing intensities.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kaixuan Pan, Merijn Moens, Leon Marshall, Ellen Cieraad, Geert R. de Snoo, Koos Biesmeijer
Summary: Analysis of over 4 million plant species' observations revealed that the majority of native, threatened, and rare species prefer landscapes with over 50% natural land cover. In contrast, exotic species tend to prefer areas with lower natural land cover. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining high levels of natural land cover for conserving plant species, especially those that are threatened or rare.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mahbubeh Hadinezhad, Reza Erfanzadeh, Hassan Ghelichnia
Summary: Little information is available about the effects of different species of shrubs on the composition of the soil seed bank (SSB) in the semiarid regions. The study revealed that the extent to which shrubs affected SSB characteristics did not only depend on the presence of shrubs, but also on the species of shrubs. These different roles of different species of shrubs on SSB are advised to be considered in the restoration of degraded areas through the SSB in the semiarid areas.
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yaqi You, Ken Aho, Kathleen A. Lohse, Stacy G. Schwabedissen, Rhesa N. Ledbetter, Timothy S. Magnuson
Summary: This study examined bacterial communities in biological soil crusts in a cold sagebrush steppe ecosystem in Idaho, United States, using Illumina sequencing. The results showed significant shifts in BSC bacterial communities with respect to elevation and shrub/intershrub patches, which were influenced by abiotic soil characteristics such as pH and ammonium. These findings contribute to the understanding of biocrust microbial ecology in cold steppe environments.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Zishan Ahmad Wani, Sajid Khan, Jahangeer A. Bhat, Akhtar H. Malik, Tahira Alyas, Shreekar Pant, Sazada Siddiqui, Mahmoud Moustafa, Ahmad Ezzat Ahmad
Summary: Elevation has a significant impact on the distribution and composition of plant species in the Himalayan region. This study found that species diversity, composition, and beta-diversity vary significantly along the elevation gradient. The structure and distribution patterns of Himalayan vegetation still need further exploration.
Article
Agronomy
Haolei Xiong, Naili Zhang, Koike Takayoshi, Siqi Tao, Laiye Qu
Summary: This study explores the interactions of above- and below-ground communities in forest ecosystems and their effects on soil fungal communities. The results show that tree species richness and shrub species richness have significant effects on fungal diversity and structure, and the tree mycorrhizal type also influences these relationships.
Article
Ecology
Lan Li, Jing Zhang, Xiong Z. He, Fujiang Hou
Summary: Herbivores play a role in regulating nutrient cycling of terrestrial ecosystems through trampling, selective foraging, and excretion. However, the effects of trampling on soil-plant interactions and stoichiometry are complex and vary between soil and plants. Research suggests that at certain stocking rates, trampling may not have negative impacts on soil-plant interactions in grasslands.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2021)