N enrichment, increased precipitation, and the effect of shrubs collectively shape the plant community in a desert ecosystem in northern China

Bai, Yuxuan; She, Weiwei; Zhang, Yuqing; Qiao, Yangui; Fu, Jie; Qin, Shugao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135379

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…The experiment comprised ve N addition treatments (N0, ambient; N0.8, ambient + 0.8 g N m -1 yr -1 ; N1.6, ambient + 1.6 g N m -1 yr -1 ; N2.4, ambient + 2.4 g N m -1 yr -1 ; and N4, ambient + 4 g N m -1 yr -1 ) and six replicate pots. The low level of N addition at the N1.2 treatment (1.2 g N m -1 yr -1 , data not shown) was nearly equivalent to the background deposition rate (1.2 g N m -1 yr -1 ) in the study area (Bai et al 2020). N additions were applied through Urea [CO(NH 2 ) 2 ] at twice equal applications, which dissolved in 300ml of tap water to add at the time of seeding and at the time of tillering on, respectively.…”

Section: Experimental Conditions and Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nitrogen(N) is one of essential and limiting factor to growth and development of terrestrial plants (Elser et al 2007;Luo et al 2019; Rubio-Asensio and Bloom 2017), and in no ecosystem is nitrogen more sensitive than in desert ecosystems (Bai et al 2020). Desert steppe ecosystems are highly vulnerable to global climate changes because species are surviving at their upper biological limits (Bai et al 2020;Tielborger et al 2014). A large of fossil-fuel combustion and fertilizer applications have been and are continuing to exacerbate global and regional atmospheric nitrogen deposition rate (Galloway et al 2008), and the increased N inputs will likely alter soil nutrient availability and subsequently affecting plant community Native species are the main components of species composition and the basis of communities stability, its changes have been used to provide speci c signals from environmental change and make sensitive environmental monitors (Philippi et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth Responses of Agropyron Mongolicum Keng to Nitrogen Addition Is Linked to Root Morphological Traits and Nitrogen-Use Efficiency.

Xu¹,

Wang²,

D³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background and aimsNitrogen (N) is the primary limiting factors for plant growth and development, and increasingly N deposition alters plant composition, consequently affecting ecosystem function have been widely acknowledged. However, the effects of N fertilization on native species in desert grassland ecosystem and underlying mechanisms of these effects are still poorly understood. This study was conducted to examine the growth response of Agropyron mongolicum keng to N addition and potential mechanisms underlying this effect.MethodsA.mongolicum Keng was subjected to five N addition levels (0, 0.8,1.6, 2.4, and 4.0g N m−2 yr−1) for six months under greenhouse conditions. A combination of linear and structural equation modelling was used to examine growth response of A.mongolicum Keng to N addition and test whether its response related to root morphological traits and N-use efficiency.ResultsGrowth responses of A. mongolicum Keng to increasing N addition appeared a unimodal-shaped with a N saturation threshold at 3.2g N m-1 yr-1. Its response closely related to the root surface area, volume, length, and forks number, N uptake and utilization efficiency. Besides, N-induced changes in soil available nutrient have an indirect impaction biomass of A. mongolicum Keng via regulation of root morphological traits and N-use efficiency.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the sensibility of A. mongolicum Keng to N addition and the importance of root morphological traits and N-use efficiency in affecting biomass. Therefore, these can provide important insights into potential changes of native species survival and development in nutrient-limited desert grassland caused by N deposition.

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Section: Experimental Conditions and Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Growth Responses of Agropyron Mongolicum Keng to Nitrogen Addition Is Linked to Root Morphological Traits and Nitrogen-Use Efficiency.

Xu¹,

Wang²,

D³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Our watering and N fertilization experiment began in April 2015 and has been running for three consecutive years (Bai et al., 2020). Three precipitation levels (W0, ambient; W20, ambient +20%; and W40, ambient +40%) and three N levels (N0, ambient, 0 kg N ha −1 year −1 ; N10, 10 kg N ha −1 year −1 ; and N60, 60 kg N ha −1 year −1 ) were combined, resulting in a fully factorial design with nine treatments.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting responses of different functional groups stabilize community responses to a dominant shrub under global change

et al. 2021

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Changes in precipitation regimes and nitrogen deposition levels due to global change are altering terrestrial ecosystems worldwide. Most attempts at understanding how biotic interactions affect plant species and community responses to global change have focused on biotic interactions measured at the community level. However, these approaches ignore that communities include functionally dissimilar species that might respond differently to changes in the effects of dominant neighbours along environmental gradients. We test the hypothesis that plant species with differences in functional traits may exhibit contrasting interactions with a dominant shrub species within a single community, thereby stabilizing community‐level responses to the effects of global change. We manipulated water and nitrogen applications in a semi‐arid dune community in northern China, quantified the biomass of herbaceous species occurring below the dominant shrub, Artemisia ordosica, and in adjacent open patches (without the shrub), and measured herbaceous species height and leaf dry matter content. The effects of A. ordosica were quantified at the species, group and community levels using the relative interaction index (RII). Redundancy analysis was performed on species traits and the RII values to assess the relationships between functional differences in species and plant–plant interactions. Species were then grouped using a cluster analysis and the RII values were recalculated at the group level. The redundancy analysis showed that species height and leaf dry matter content were significantly correlated to the changes in species' responses to the effect of A. ordosica along treatments. The four groups of species identified by the cluster analysis showed contrasting variations in competitive or facilitative responses depending on species traits and environmental treatments. However, the interactions measured at the group level balanced the community‐level responses, as we found no significant changes in the effects of A. ordosica along treatments for community biomass, richness and functional diversity indices. Synthesis. Our findings indicate that species with different functional strategies within a community exhibit contrasting responses to a dominant shrub along environmental gradients. These contrasting changes in plant–plant interactions of functionally different species may balance the responses of community‐level metrics. This suggests that functional differences between species groups and the balance of plant–plant interactions stabilize community responses to global change.

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“…A desert ecosystem is highly sensitive to climate change because plant species are already struggling in an extreme environment, including drought and high temperature. Since water and temperature are two key factors for plant survival and growth in a desert ecosystem, the changes of hydrothermal availability are expected to have in uence on the structure and function of the desert plant community (Bai et al 2020;Liu et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of seed germination and seedling emergence of Haloxylon ammodendron to climate change in desert ecosystem

Zhu

Jia

Wang

2022

Preprint

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Climate change will result in the variation of rain frequency and warming in arid zone, which is expected to affect seed germination and seedling emergence in desert ecosystem. However, the effect of unpredictable rainfall and increasing temperature on seed germination and seedling emergence of dominant desert plants remains unclear across different deserts, which is important for population regeneration and community succession in desert ecosystem. Seed germination and seedling emergence of Haloxylon ammodendron across four desert in Northwest China was examined at different rain frequencies, and constant and alternating temperatures, to investigate their response to climate change. Rain frequency determined seed germination and seedling emergence of H. ammodendron in Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert, Gurbantonggut Desert and Mutthar Desert, which was maximal at rain frequency of 10 times per month and decreased with a decrease of rain frequency. Temperature was not a restricting factor for seed germination of H. ammodendron in Tengger Desert, Badain Jaran Desert and Gurbantonggut Desert, varying from 10 °C to 25 °C and from 20/10 °C to 30/15 °C, respectively. However, the highest temperature of 25 °C and 30/15 °C inhibited seed germination of H. ammodendron in the Mutthar Desert. Haloxylon ammodendron had an opportunistic germination strategy to adapt to the arid climate. Under climate change in the future, seed germination and seedling emergence of H. ammodendron would be restricted by the combination of less frequent rainfall and increased temperature in desert ecosystem. The regeneration of H. ammodendron community should be promoted by irrigation and seedling transplant.

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N enrichment, increased precipitation, and the effect of shrubs collectively shape the plant community in a desert ecosystem in northern China

Cited by 19 publications

References 80 publications

Growth Responses of Agropyron Mongolicum Keng to Nitrogen Addition Is Linked to Root Morphological Traits and Nitrogen-Use Efficiency.

Growth Responses of Agropyron Mongolicum Keng to Nitrogen Addition Is Linked to Root Morphological Traits and Nitrogen-Use Efficiency.

Contrasting responses of different functional groups stabilize community responses to a dominant shrub under global change

Response of seed germination and seedling emergence of Haloxylon ammodendron to climate change in desert ecosystem

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