Aboveground production and species richness of annuals in Chihuahuan Desert grassland and shrubland plant communities

Xia, Yang; Moore, Douglas I.; Collins, Scott L.; Muldavin, Esteban

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.08.016

Cited by 54 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Whisenant (1999) and Reynolds et al (2004) have shown that abundance of plant species in arid regions correlates strongly with soil moisture. Xia et al (2010) also reported that species richness was positively correlated with soil moisture in both grassland and shrubland communities in arid ecosystems. We therefore conclude that soil moisture plays a very crucial role in affecting the distribution of plant species in the northern Loess Plateau.…”

Section: General Distinctions Of Herbaceous Diversity Between Differementioning

confidence: 87%

“…Báez and Collins (2008) found that species richness decreased as a result of shrub encroachment. Xia et al (2010), however, reported that the exact cause of shrub encroachment varied from site to site. Pfisterer and Schmid (2002) showed that increases in biodiversity had a positive effect on productivity, but Willms et al (2002) suggested the lack of a general relationship between these two factors due to species-specific effects and unique trophic links.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in the northern Loess Plateau of China

Jia¹,

Shao

Wei³

2011

Biodivers Conserv

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Restored grasslands and shrublands are integral parts of the semi-natural landscape and are of major importance for biodiversity in the northern Loess Plateau. Determining the underlying factors that control the richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored grasslands and shrublands is urgently needed. Thus, the specific objective of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of soil, plant, and topographic explanatory variables affecting the richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in a typical watershed within the northern Loess Plateau. In this study, 27 restored grassland sites and 16 restored shrubland sites were sampled during September 2009. Using variation partitioning (partial canonical correspondence analysis), we determined the individual and shared effects of these three sets of explanatory variables on herbaceous biodiversity in the two restored habitats. Most of the explained variation in plant diversity was related to the pure effect of soil, plant, and topographic variables. Restored shrublands had significantly more species than grasslands, and abandoned dam farmlands had significantly more species than other grassland sites. Moreover, botanical diversity responded differently to the explanatory variables in different plant communities. The pure effects of soil properties, soil moisture in particular, accounted for the largest fractions of explained variation in species diversity in restored grasslands. Both plant and topographic variables had balancing pure effects on species diversity in restored shrublands, in particular the shrub density and slope angle. We conclude that the maintenance of a moderate density of shrubs (less than 3600 shrubs per ha), construction of check-dams, and grazing at a low stocking rate, taking conditions of soil and topographic site into account, may help to conserve biodiversity in the northern Loess Plateau.

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Section: General Distinctions Of Herbaceous Diversity Between Differementioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in the northern Loess Plateau of China

Jia¹,

Shao

Wei³

2011

Biodivers Conserv

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“…Biomass data were then averaged across sub-plot types (exclosure and control) in each site. To measure species composition, we placed a grid of one hundred 10 cm Â 10 cm squares over each 1-m 2 plot and counted the number of squares in which each species was present (Muldavin et al, 2008;Xia et al, 2010). To account for possible abundance overestimation using the method above, we also estimated percent cover for each species using bins of <1%, 1%, 2e5%, 6e10%, 11e20%, 21e30%, 31e40%, 41e50%, 51e60%, 61e70%, 71e80%, 81e90%, and 91e100%.…”

Section: Plot Watering Plant/soil Sampling and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Top-down vs. bottom-up regulation of herbaceous primary production and composition in an arid, urbanizing ecosystem

Davis

Cook

Collins

et al. 2015

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…The extent of plant responses to precipitation pulses varies geographically, seasonally and as a function of plant life-history traits (Ogle and Reynolds 2004). For example, within semiarid grasslands in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, peak grass production occurs following large summer rain events, whereas peak forb and shrub production, both of which are typically dominated by C 3 species, occur following winter rains (Muldavin et al 2008;Xia et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Above- and belowground responses to nitrogen addition in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland

et al. 2011

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Increased available soil nitrogen can increase biomass, lower species richness, alter soil chemistry and modify community structure in herbaceous ecosystems worldwide. Although increased nitrogen availability typically increases aboveground production and decreases species richness in mesic systems, the impacts of nitrogen additions on semiarid ecosystems remain unclear. To determine how a semiarid grassland responds to increased nitrogen availability, we examined plant community structure and above- and belowground net primary production in response to long-term nitrogen addition in a desert grassland in central New Mexico, USA. Plots were fertilized annually (10 g N m(-2)) since 1995 and NPP measured from 2004 to 2009. Differences in aboveground NPP between fertilized and control treatments occurred in 2004 following a prescribed fire and in 2006 when precipitation was double the long-term average during the summer monsoon. Presumably, nitrogen only became limiting once drought stress was alleviated. Belowground NPP was also related to precipitation, and greatest root growth occurred the year following the wettest summer, decreasing gradually thereafter. Belowground production was unrelated to aboveground production within years and unrelated to nitrogen enrichment. Species richness changed between years in response to seasonal precipitation variability, but was not altered by nitrogen addition. Community structure did respond to nitrogen fertilization primarily through increased abundance of two dominant perennial grasses. These results were contrary to most nitrogen addition studies that find increased biomass and decreased species richness with nitrogen fertilization. Therefore, factors other than nitrogen deposition, such as fire or drought, may play a stronger role in shaping semiarid grassland communities than soil fertility.

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Aboveground production and species richness of annuals in Chihuahuan Desert grassland and shrubland plant communities

Cited by 54 publications

References 49 publications

Richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in the northern Loess Plateau of China

Richness and composition of herbaceous species in restored shrubland and grassland ecosystems in the northern Loess Plateau of China

Top-down vs. bottom-up regulation of herbaceous primary production and composition in an arid, urbanizing ecosystem

Above- and belowground responses to nitrogen addition in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland

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