Effects of grazing and fertilization on the relationship between species abundance and functional traits in an alpine meadow community on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Trait‐based approaches can provide a useful tool for linking plant attributes to community structure and ecosystem function. Seed mass and plant height play important roles in the dynamics of plant communities, but few empirical community level studies have tested this, especially in stressful environments. The aim of the present study was to determine if there is a relationship between functional traits (seed mass and plant height) and changes in species relative abundance (SRA) in response to grazing and fertilization. We measured SRA and plant functional traits for 40 common species in a Tibetan Plateau alpine meadow. In the fertilized meadow, seed mass and plant height was significantly positively correlated with the relative abundance of the species. In the grazed meadow, these variables were significantly negatively correlated. Our results demonstrates that plant functional traits can be used to predict the change of SRA in plant community. Grazing promotes the dominance of small‐seeded and short‐stature species, and fertilization facilitates the occurrence of large‐seeded and tall‐stature species.

Trait‐abundance relation in response to nutrient addition in a Tibetan alpine meadow: The importance of species trade‐off in resource conservation and acquisition

“…For each species, we estimated the response of SRA and individual trait to fertilization with a log response ratio [=log (SRA fertilized /SRA control )] and relative trait change [=(Trait fertilized − Trait control )/Trait control )], respectively, where SRA fertilized (or Trait fertilized ) and SRA control (or Trait control ) are the mean SRA in plots with and without fertilizer addition, respectively. Thus, a positive value indicates that fertilization increases relative abundance (or trait) of a given species and vice versa (Li et al., ; Niu et al., ). Statistical significances of the response of SRA and traits were tested by pair t‐ test on mean difference between fertilized and control treatment.…”

“…The specific relationship between SRA and traits‐abundance would be revised after the fertilizer was applied because the most limited resource for plants would change. For instance, soil nutrient limitation may be relieved when both N and P are added, the most limiting resource for plants is light in these fertilized communities (Li, Tian, Ren, Huang, & Zhang, ; Yang, Guo, Zhang, & Du, . To test these hypothesis, we conducted a short‐term factorial experiment subjected to addition of nitrogen fertilizer (N), phosphorus fertilizer (P), or both of them (NP) in a Tibetan alpine meadow.…”

Effects of grazing on ecosystem structure and function of alpine grasslands in Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau: a synthesis

“…Grazing resulted in the removal of palatable species, which reduced the abundance of some dominant species (Niu et al 2010). This reduction benefited some unpalatable and grazing-resistant species through reduced competition and increased nutrient availability and/or light availability (Zhu et al 2008, Li et al 2013a).…”

Plant functional trait diversity regulates the nonlinear response of productivity to regional climate change in Tibetan alpine grasslands

“… 43 examined the spatial PUE pattern across different alpine grassland types, explained the potential influences of climatic variables and soil properties, but did not examine the direct and indirect influences of plant functional trait diversity. Current studies that follow trait-based approaches are limitedly conducted in the humid meadows in the eastern Tibetan plateau 28 44 45 46 and rarely in the arid steppe and desert-steppe zones in the northwestern region 47 . At large spatial scales, from both field observations and remote sensing modelling, scientists have confirmed that Tibetan alpine grasslands are very sensitive to changes in precipitation 28 29 48 49 50 .…”