Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with wild forage plants in typical steppe of eastern Inner Mongolia

Tian, Hui; Gai, Jingping; Zhang, J.L.; Christie, Peter; Li, X.L.

doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2009.05.003

Cited by 45 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 31 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…In our study, we found the dominant perennial bunchgrasses, such as S. grandis , A. cristatum , Achnatherum sibiricum , C. squarrosa , and L. chinensis in typical steppe generally have roots with rhizosheath, which favors nutrient absorption and water reservation in resource-poor habitats [54]. Tian et al [55] reported most of dominant and subdominant plant species in typical steppe are colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, which could improve plant P uptake, thereby lessen the defoliation-induced P limitation [56]. Nevertheless, these compensatory feedbacks may be insufficient to prevent widespread N or P limitation across a broad geographic region, especially in arid and semiarid grasslands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Scale-Dependent Effects of Grazing on Plant C: N: P Stoichiometry and Linkages to Ecosystem Functioning in the Inner Mongolia Grassland

Zheng

Ren

et al. 2012

PLoS ONE

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BackgroundLivestock grazing is the most prevalent land use of grasslands worldwide. The effects of grazing on plant C, N, P contents and stoichiometry across hierarchical levels, however, have rarely been studied; particularly whether the effects are mediated by resource availability and the underpinning mechanisms remain largely unclear.Methodology/Principal FindingsUsing a multi-organization-level approach, we examined the effects of grazing on the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in plant tissues (leaves and roots) and linkages to ecosystem functioning across three vegetation types (meadow, meadow steppe, and typical steppe) in the Inner Mongolia grassland, China. Our results showed that the effects of grazing on the C, N, and P contents and stoichiometry in leaves and roots differed substantially among vegetation types and across different hierarchical levels (species, functional group, and vegetation type levels). The magnitude of positive effects of grazing on leaf N and P contents increased progressively along the hierarchy of organizational levels in the meadow, whereas its negative effect on leaf N content decreased considerably along hierarchical levels in both the typical and meadow steppes. Grazing increased N and P allocation to aboveground in the meadow, while greater N and P allocation to belowground was found in the typical and meadow steppes. The differences in soil properties, plant trait-based resource use strategies, tolerance or defense strategies to grazing, and shifts in functional group composition are likely to be the key mechanisms for the observed patterns among vegetation types.Conclusions/SignificanceOur findings suggest that the enhanced vegetation-type-level N contents by grazing and species compensatory feedbacks may be insufficient to prevent widespread declines in primary productivity in the Inner Mongolia grassland. Hence, it is essential to reduce the currently high stocking rates and restore the vast degraded steppes for sustainable development of arid and semiarid grasslands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Scale-Dependent Effects of Grazing on Plant C: N: P Stoichiometry and Linkages to Ecosystem Functioning in the Inner Mongolia Grassland

Zheng

Ren

et al. 2012

PLoS ONE

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“…LG considered highly tolerant to deleterious environmental conditions and capable of adaptation strategy to soil disturbances (Sýkorová et al, 2007), pollution (Hassan et al, 2011), cold , drought (Mohammad et al, 2003;Tian et al, 2009) and salinity (Krishnamoorthy et al, 2014). The predominant species in Tamarix rhisosphere, F. geosporum was often detected under saline environments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of soil salinity on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biodiversity and microflora biomass associated with Tamarix articulata Vahll rhizosphere in arid and semi-arid Algerian areas

Bencherif

Boutekrabt

Fontaine

et al. 2015

Science of The Total Environment

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“…This is likely because most of the dominant and subdominant plant species in these steppe communities are colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Tian et al . ), which could have increased plant P uptake and thus lessened the defoliation‐induced P limitation (van der Heijden et al . ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lack of reduction in root or above-ground P content observed in the grazed sites suggests that P availability in the meadow and typical steppes may have been sufficient to support stoichiometrically balanced growth for plants following grazing. This is likely because most of the dominant and subdominant plant species in these steppe communities are colonized by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Tian et al 2009), which could have increased plant P uptake and thus lessened the defoliation-induced P limitation (van der Heijden et al 1998). P availability may also have been sufficient to support balanced growth at higher tropic levels in these communities, as shoot C : P of all three community types across the CMT were below the hypothesized threshold of 250 : 1 required for efficient growth of P-rich herbivores feeding on comparably C-rich plants (Elser et al 2000).…”

Section: E F F E C T S O F G R a Z I N G O N P L A N T A N D S O I L mentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing alters ecosystem functioning and C:N:P stoichiometry of grasslands along a regional precipitation gradient

Bai

Clark

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Ecology

311

266

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Summary1. The Eurasian steppe has long been subject to grazing by domestic ungulates at high levels, resulting in widespread deterioration of biodiversity and ecosystem services. While abundant evidence demonstrates that heavy grazing alters the ecosystem structure and function of grasslands, research on how grazing specifically affects ecosystem functioning and stoichiometry on broad scales is scarce because of a lack of adequate ungrazed reference sites. 2. We examined the effects of grazing on ecosystem functioning and C : N : P stoichiometry across a precipitation gradient along the 700 km China-Mongolia transect (CMT), covering three community types: meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe. 3. Long-term grazing has dramatically altered the C, N and P pools and stoichiometry of steppe ecosystems along the CMT. Grazing reduced the C, N and P pools in above-ground biomass and litter, while the responses in below-ground biomass and soil C, N and P pools to grazing differed substantially among community types. 4. Grazing increased N content and decreased C : N ratios in all plant compartments, suggesting accelerated N cycling. The altered C : N : P stoichiometry may be explained by changes in the composition of species and functional groups as well as increased foliar N and P contents for the same species in grazed communities. 5. Synthesis and applications. Plant stoichiometric responses to grazing ranged from large in the meadow steppe to small in the typical steppe to generally insignificant in the desert steppe, implying that different underlying mechanisms operated along the regional precipitation gradient. Our findings suggest that reducing the stocking rate and restoring the vastly degraded steppes are essential to sustain native steppe biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and biological capacity for mitigating the impact of climate change in the Inner Mongolia grassland.

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Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with wild forage plants in typical steppe of eastern Inner Mongolia

Cited by 45 publications

References 31 publications

Scale-Dependent Effects of Grazing on Plant C: N: P Stoichiometry and Linkages to Ecosystem Functioning in the Inner Mongolia Grassland

Scale-Dependent Effects of Grazing on Plant C: N: P Stoichiometry and Linkages to Ecosystem Functioning in the Inner Mongolia Grassland

Impact of soil salinity on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi biodiversity and microflora biomass associated with Tamarix articulata Vahll rhizosphere in arid and semi-arid Algerian areas

Grazing alters ecosystem functioning and C:N:P stoichiometry of grasslands along a regional precipitation gradient

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