Relationships among plant species diversity, biomass, and the groundwater table in the Hailiutu River basin

Li, 朱丽 Zhu; Guiqing, 徐贵青 Xu; Yan, 李岩 Li; Lisong, 唐立松 Tang; Ziru, 牛子儒 Niu

doi:10.5846/stxb201510302194

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Species diversity reveals the organizational levels of a community and induces changes in the functional characteristics of a biotic community; it can even alter a shortage of critical species in a community or the utilization patterns of environmental resources by species, and thus lead to modifications in ecosystem structure and function [7, 15–18]. Variations in species diversity mirror changes of species richness and evenness in a community or habitat, as well as the relationships between a community and different natural geographical conditions [19]. In general, species diversity of plant community decreases from lower to higher latitude; in terms of elevation gradient, changes in species diversity of plant community have 5 models: negative correlation, greatest in mid-altitude, smaller in mid-altitude, positive correlation, and no correlation [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale spatial patterns of species diversity and biomass together with their correlations along geographical gradients in subalpine meadows

Zhang

Wen

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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Researchers frequently discuss spatial distribution patterns of species diversity and biomass together with their correlations along geographical gradients. Typical subalpine meadows occur widely on the east of the Loess Plateau, China; here, we selected nine mountains belonging to four mountain systems from north to south on the east of the plateau. We analyzed five latitudinal and longitudinal gradients together with six elevational gradients to study the spatial distribution patterns of species diversity (including α , β , and γ diversity) and biomass plus with their relationships at various scales. Results showed that (1) for diversity, α -Diversity manifested unimodal variation patterns in horizontal spaces, peaking at high latitude and low longitude. However, α -diversity was not sensitive to elevation in vertical spaces and tended to decrease with increasing elevation. With increased latitude, longitude, and elevation, β -Diversity diminished; meanwhile, the rate of species turnover decreased and the similarity of community composition enlarged. γ -Diversity demonstrated quadratic function changes that were initially incremental and then decreased with increasing longitude, elevation, and latitude from 37.5° to 40°. In general, β- diversity had positive correlation with γ -diversity and negative correlation with α- diversity, which conformed to the function of β = γ / α . (2) For biomass, changes of aboveground biomass (AB) were more obvious along latitudinal gradients, whereas variations of belowground biomass (BB) had smaller differences along longitudinal and latitudinal gradients. More biomass was allocated to BB toward the north and east, whereas root-to-shoot ratio (R/S) was more evident at greater latitude than greater longitude. With increased elevation, more biomass was also allocated to BB, and the relationship of biomass to elevation was closer in AB. In short, the relation of biomass allocation tended to belowground plant parts with different geographical scales. (3) Species diversity had the strongest positive influence on AB. The Patrick and Shannon indices had correlations of power functions with AB and R/S, respectively, indicating that an allometric model could be used to model relationships between species diversity and biomass. In conclusion, the unique geomorphological structures with a series of basins between mountain systems on the east of the Loess Plateau, meant that subalpine meadows were mostly distributed along latitudinal directions, so the spatial distribution of species diversity and biomass was more evident along latitudinal gradients, and thus the response of aboveground biomass was more sensitive to variations of spatial gradients and species diversity.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale spatial patterns of species diversity and biomass together with their correlations along geographical gradients in subalpine meadows

Zhang

Wen

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

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“…The MDE hypothesis also needs to be further tested, and selective analysis should be performed on the influential factors of the hypothesis. Special environmental conditions result in fragile ecosystems in arid and semiarid regions where plant diversity is threatened most severely (Zhu et al, 2017). The Loess Plateau is a region with the most serious soil erosion and the most frail ecological environment in China, and possibly the world, due to its drought climate, low precipitation and sparse vegetation (Liu et al, 2018;Zhang and Zhang, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mid-domain effect of species diversity of mountainous plants is determined by community life form and family flora in a temperate semi-arid region of China

Wen

2018

Preprint

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The mid-domain effect (MDE) is a vital hypothesis to explain altitudinal patterns of species diversity of mountainous plants with different gradients, but it is bounded in terms of its application at the plant level. To verify the MDE hypothesis, we chose a typical mountain with obvious elevation gradients and considerable plant coverage as a study area in the east of the Loess Plateau and partitioned various elevation belts across this mountain. Through measuring the species diversity of arbor, shrub and herb communities in forest ecosystems, we explored altitudinal patterns of species diversity of mountainous plants with different gradients. We determined that the family numbers of the herb and shrub communities, as well as the species diversity of the arbor community, reached their maximums at intermediate elevations. The family numbers of the herb and shrub communities presented unimodal patterns across altitudinal gradients, and the highest values occurred at intermediate elevations. The family number of the arbor community showed a monotonic decreasing pattern, and the importance values of dominant families in the shrub and arbor communities presented unimodal patterns, but the lowest values occurred at intermediate elevations. The species diversity of the herb, shrub and arbor communities conformed to unimodal change patterns following altitudinal gradients, but the greatest diversity occurred at high, low and intermediate elevations, respectively. At higher elevations, weeds and grasses grew well, whereas sedges grew well at lower elevations. With respect to the importance values of different arbor life forms, their responses to altitudinal gradients indicated a certain variation pattern, which was greater for evergreen coniferous arbor species than for deciduous coniferous arbor species and deciduous broad-leaved arbor species. It is concluded that the MDE hypothesis of species diversity for mountainous plants is influenced greatly by the community life form and family flora at the plant level in a temperate semi-arid region of the Loess Plateau, China. This conclusion tests and modifies the MDE hypothesis and can be valuable for fueling prediction of biodiversity models and for the comparison with similar studies in different regions.

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Influence of Multi-Layered Structure of Vadose Zone on Ecological Effect of Groundwater in Arid Area: A Case Study of Shiyang River Basin, Northwest China

Cui

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2021

Water

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The natural vegetation in arid areas of northwest China is strongly dependent on the availability of groundwater. Significantly, capillary water plays an essential role in regulating the ecological groundwater level in the multilayered structure of the vadose zone. The soil-column test and field survey in the lower reaches of the Shiyang River Basin were conducted to investigate the influence of the multi-layered structure of the vadose zone on maintaining the ecological effect of groundwater. Based on the field survey, the results show that the depth of groundwater is 3.0 m, and the rising height of capillary water is 140 cm. In the soil-column test, the height of the wetting front of the column was 125 cm. During the water releasing test, the water held by the vadose zone was 182.54 mm, which would have maintained Haloxylon’s survival in a growing season. Therefore, the multi-layered structure of the vadose zone extends the ecological groundwater depth and consequently enhances the ecological function of groundwater. Importantly, with a lower groundwater level, the clay soil layer within the rising height range of the original capillary water would hold more water and maintain a higher water content for a certain period to supply surface vegetation.

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Relationships among plant species diversity, biomass, and the groundwater table in the Hailiutu River basin

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Multiscale spatial patterns of species diversity and biomass together with their correlations along geographical gradients in subalpine meadows

Multiscale spatial patterns of species diversity and biomass together with their correlations along geographical gradients in subalpine meadows

The mid-domain effect of species diversity of mountainous plants is determined by community life form and family flora in a temperate semi-arid region of China

Influence of Multi-Layered Structure of Vadose Zone on Ecological Effect of Groundwater in Arid Area: A Case Study of Shiyang River Basin, Northwest China

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