| Research Articles |
|
|
|
|
| Effects of soil nutrients and climate factors on belowground biomass in an alpine meadow in the source region of the Yangtze-Yellow rivers, Tibetan Plateau of China |
| WANG Haiming1, SUN Jian2*, LI Weipeng3, WU Jianbo1, CHEN Youjun4, LIU Wenhui5 |
1 Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China;
2 Synthesis Research Centre of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
3 Land and Resource College, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637002, China;
4 Institute of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Southwest University for Nationalities Sichuan, Chengdu 610041, China;
5 Qinghai Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Xining 810016, China |
|
|
|
Abstract Improving our knowledge of the effects of environmental factors (e.g. soil conditions, precipitation and temperature) on belowground biomass in an alpine grassland is essential for understanding the consequences of carbon storage in this biome. The object of this study is to investigate the relative importance of soil nutrients and climate factors on belowground biomass in an alpine meadow in the source region of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, Tibetan Plateau. Soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) contents and belowground biomass were measured at 22 sampling sites across an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. We analyzed the data by using the redundancy analysis to determine the main environmental factors affecting the belowground biomass and the contribution of each factor. The results showed that SOC, TN and TP were the main factors that influenced belowground biomass, and the contribution of SOC, TN and TP on biomass was in the range of 47.87%–72.06% at soil depths of 0–30 cm. Moreover, the combined contribution of annual mean temperature (AMT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) on belowground biomass ranged from 0.92% to 4.10%. A potential mechanism for the differences in belowground biomass was caused by the variations in soil nitrogen and phosphorous, which were coupled with SOC. A significant correlation was observed between MAP and soil nutrients (SOC, TN and TP) at the soil depth of 0–10 cm (P<0.05). We concluded that precipitation is an important driving force in regulating ecosystem functioning as reflected in variations of soil nutrients (SOC, TN and TP) and dynamics of belowground biomass in alpine grassland ecosystems.
|
|
Received: 03 December 2015
Published: 01 December 2016
|
| Fund: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41501057), the West Light Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Open Fund of the Key Laboratory of Mountain Surface Processes and Eco-regulation and the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CBA01808). |
|
Corresponding Authors:
|
|
|
| Ambebe T F, Dang Q L. 2009. Low moisture availability inhibits the enhancing effect of increased soil temperature on net photosynthesis of white birch (Betula papyrifera) seedlings grown under ambient and elevated carbon dioxide concentrations. Tree Physiology, 29(11): 1341–1348. Bai W M, Wan S Q, Niu S L, et al. 2010. Increased temperature and precipitation interact to affect root production, mortality, and turnover in a temperate steppe: implications for ecosystem C cycling. Global Change Biology, 16(4): 1306–1316.Blue J D, Souza L, Classen A T, et al. 2011. The variable effects of soil nitrogen availability and insect herbivory on aboveground and belowground plant biomass in an old-field ecosystem. Oecologia, 167(3): 771–780. Chang R Y, Jin T T, Lü Y H, et al. 2014. Soil carbon and nitrogen changes following afforestation of marginal cropland across a precipitation gradient in loess plateau of China. PLoS ONE, 9(1): e85426, doi: 10.1371/journal. pone.0085426. Chen Y C, Sun J, Xie F T, et al. 2015. Litter chemical structure is more important than species richness in affecting soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics including gas emissions from an alpine soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 51(7): 791–800. Copeland S M, Bruna E M, Silva L V B, et al. 2012. Short-term effects of elevated precipitation and nitrogen on soil fertility and plant growth in a Neotropical savanna. Ecosphere, 3(4), doi: 10.1890/ES11-00305.1. de Dios V R, Turnbull M H, Barbour M M, et al. 2013. Soil phosphorous and endogenous rhythms exert a larger impact than CO2 or temperature on nocturnal stomatal conductance in Eucalyptus tereticornis. Tree Physiology, 33(11): 1206–1215. Dessureault-Rompré J, Zebarth B J, Georgallas A, et al. 2010. Temperature dependence of soil nitrogen mineralization rate: Comparison of mathematical models, reference temperatures and origin of the soils. Geoderma, 157(3–4): 97–108. Dong Q M, Li Q Y, Ma Y S, et al. 2002. Effect of grazing intensity on bio-mass above ground and vegetation structure in summer alpine meadow. Qinghai Prataculture, 11(2): 8–10, 49. (in Chinese)Dong S K, Wen L, Li Y Y, et al. 2012. Soil-quality effects of grassland degradation and restoration on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 76(6): 2256–2264. Ettema C H, Wardle D A. 2002. Spatial soil ecology. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 17(4): 177–183. Fan M J, Song C H, Dettman D L, et al. 2006. Intensification of the Asian winter monsoon after 7.4 Ma: Grain-size evidence from the Linxia basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, 13.1 Ma to 4.3 Ma. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 248(1–2): 186–197. Fang J Y, Yang Y H, Ma W H, et al. 2010. Ecosystem carbon stocks and their changes in China’s grasslands. Science China Life Sciences, 53(7): 757–765. Figueiredo N, Carranca C, Goufo P, et al. 2015. Impact of agricultural practices, elevated temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration on nitrogen and pH dynamics in soil and floodwater during the seasonal rice growth in Portugal. Soil and Tillage Research, 145: 198–207. Frøseth R B, Bleken M A. 2015. Effect of low temperature and soil type on the decomposition rate of soil organic carbon and clover leaves, and related priming effect. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 80: 156–166. Gabarrón-Galeote M A, Trigalet S, van Wesemael B. 2015. Soil organic carbon evolution after land abandonment along a precipitation gradient in southern Spain. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 199: 114–123.Geng Y, Wang Y, Yang K, et al. 2012. Soil respiration in Tibetan alpine grasslands: belowground biomass and soil moisture, but not soil temperature, best explain the large-scale patterns. PLoS ONE, 7(4): e34968, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034968. Hassan W, Bano R, Khatak B U, et al. 2015. Temperature sensitivity and soil organic carbon pools decomposition under different moisture regimes: Effect on total microbial and enzymatic activity. CLEAN-Soil, Air, Water, 43(3): 391–398. He N P, Wu L, Wang Y S, et al. 2009. Changes in carbon and nitrogen in soil particle-size fractions along a grassland restoration chronosequence in northern China. Geoderma, 150(3–4): 302–308. He N P, Chen Q S, Han X G, et al. 2012. Warming and increased precipitation individually influence soil carbon sequestration of Inner Mongolian grasslands, China. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 158: 184–191. Hui D F, Jackson R B. 2006. Geographical and interannual variability in biomass partitioning in grassland ecosystems: a synthesis of field data. New Phytologist, 169(1): 85–93. Jobbágy E G, Sala O E. 2000. Controls of grass and shrub aboveground production in the Patagonian steppe. Ecological Applications, 10(2): 541–549. Kang M Y, Dai C, Ji W Y, et al. 2013. Biomass and its allocation in relation to temperature, precipitation, and soil nutrients in Inner Mongolia grasslands, China. PLoS ONE, 8(7): e69561, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069561.Klopfenstein S T, Hirmas D R, Johnson W C. 2015. Relationships between soil organic carbon and precipitation along a climosequence in loess-derived soils of the Central Great Plains, USA. CATENA, 133: 25–34. Li Y Y, Dong S K, Wen L, et al. 2013. The effects of fencing on carbon stocks in the degraded alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Environmental Management, 128: 393–399. Li Y Y, Dong S K, Wen L, et al. 2014. Soil carbon and nitrogen pools and their relationship to plant and soil dynamics of degraded and artificially restored grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Geoderma, 213: 178–184. Liu L S, Zhang Y L, Bai W Q, et al. 2006. Characteristics of grassland degradation and driving forces in the source region of the Yellow River from 1985 to 2000. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 16(2): 131–142. Liu M, Liu G H, Gong L, et al. 2014. Relationships of biomass with environmental factors in the grassland area of Hulunbuir, China. PLoS ONE, 9(7): e102344, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102344. Lu X Y, Yan Y, Sun J, et al. 2015. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus storage in alpine grassland ecosystems of Tibet: effects of grazing exclusion. Ecology and Evolution, 5(19): 4492–4504. Ma C B, Stern D I. 2008. Biomass and China’s carbon emissions: A missing piece of carbon decomposition. Energy Policy, 36(7): 2517–2526. Meng Q F, Sun Y T, Zhao J, et al. 2014. Distribution of carbon and nitrogen in water-stable aggregates and soil stability under long-term manure application in solonetzic soils of the Songnen plain, northeast China. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 14(6): 1041–1049. Mokany K, Raison R J, Prokushkin A S. 2006. Critical analysis of root: shoot ratios in terrestrial biomes. Global Change Biology, 12(1): 84–96. Roa-Fuentes L L, Hidalgo C, Etchevers J D, et al. 2013. The effects of precipitation regime on soil carbon pools on the Yucatan Peninsula. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 29(5): 463–466. Sanaullah M, Chabbi A, Girardin C, et al. 2014. Effects of drought and elevated temperature on biochemical composition of forage plants and their impact on carbon storage in grassland soil. Plant and Soil, 374(1–2): 767–778. Schenk H J, Jackson R B. 2005. Mapping the global distribution of deep roots in relation to climate and soil characteristics. Geoderma, 126(1–2): 129–140. Shang Z H, Cao J J, Guo R Y, et al. 2014. The response of soil organic carbon and nitrogen 10 years after returning cultivated alpine steppe to grassland by abandonment or reseeding. CATENA, 119: 28–35. Sun J, Cheng G W, Li W P. 2013a. Meta-analysis of relationships between environmental factors and aboveground biomass in the alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau. Biogeosciences, 10(3): 1707–1715. Sun J, Cheng G W, Li W P, et al. 2013b. On the variation of NDVI with the principal climatic elements in the Tibetan Plateau. Remote Sensing, 5(4): 1894–1911. Verburg P S J, Young A C, Stevenson B A, et al. 2013. Do increased summer precipitation and N deposition alter fine root dynamics in a Mojave Desert ecosystem? Global Change Biology, 19(3): 948–956. Wang M Q, Han J, Haq Z, et al. 2011. Energy and greenhouse gas emission effects of corn and cellulosic ethanol with technology improvements and land use changes. Biomass and Bioenergy, 35(5): 1885–1896. Wang X X, Dong S K, Yang B, et al. 2014. The effects of grassland degradation on plant diversity, primary productivity, and soil fertility in the alpine region of Asia’s headwaters. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 186(10): 6903–6917. Wen L, Dong S K, Li Y Y, et al. 2013a. Effect of degradation intensity on grassland ecosystem services in the alpine region of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. PLoS ONE, 8(3): e58432, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058432. Wen L, Dong S K, Li Y Y, et al. 2013b. The impact of land degradation on the C pools in alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Plant and Soil, 368(1–2): 329–340. Wu G L, Li W, Shi Z H, et al. 2011. Aboveground dominant functional group predicts belowground properties in an alpine grassland community of western China. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 11(6): 1011–1019. Wu J S, Shen Z X, Zhang X Z, et al. 2013. Biomass allocation patterns of alpine grassland species and functional groups along a precipitation gradient on the Northern Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Mountain Science, 10(6): 1097–1108. Xu W X, Gu S, Zhao X Q, et al. 2011. High positive correlation between soil temperature and NDVI from 1982 to 2006 in alpine meadow of the Three-River Source Region on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 13(4): 528–535. Yang Y H, Fang J Y, Ji C J, et al. 2009. Above and belowground biomass allocation in Tibetan grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 20(1): 177–184. Yang Y H, Fang J Y, Mohammat A, et al. 2010. Large-scale pattern of biomass partitioning across China’s grasslands. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 19: 268–277.Yang Y H, Fang J Y, Ji C J, et al. 2014. Stoichiometric shifts in surface soils over broad geographical scales: evidence from China’s grasslands. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23(8): 947–955. Zhang K R, Dang H S, Zhang Q F, et al. 2015. Soil carbon dynamics following land-use change varied with temperature and precipitation gradients: evidence from stable isotopes. Global Change Biology, 21(7): 2762–2772. Zhou H K, Zhao X Q, Tang Y H, et al. 2005. Alpine grassland degradation and its control in the source region of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, China. Grassland Science, 51(3): 191–203. Zhou X Q, Chen C R, Wang Y F, et al. 2013. Warming and increased precipitation have differential effects on soil extracellular enzyme activities in a temperate grassland. Science of the Total Environment, 444: 552–558. |
|
Viewed |
|
|
|
Full text
|
|
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
|
|
Cited |
|
|
|
|
| |
Shared |
|
|
|
|
| |
Discussed |
|
|
|
|
