Slope aspect affects the non-structural carbohydrates and C:N:P stoichiometry of Artemisia sacrorum on the Loess Plateau in China

Ai, Zemin; He, Li; Qi, Xin; Yang, Ting; Liu, Guobin; Xue, Sha

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2016.12.024

Cited by 40 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Redundancy analysis (RDA), which is a form of direct gradient analysis (Ai et al 2017), was performed with a subset of environmental variables to estimate the fraction of the variation of the dependent variables (i.e., plant species composition) that can be attributed to each environmental variable by treating the explanatory environmental variables as regression covariables (Maccherini et al 2011). Redundancy analysis was performed using the CANOCO5.0 software (Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, New York, USA) to assess the relative influence of abiotic factors on the plant community composition (Yang et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

et al. 2019

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Slope aspect can affect soil temperature and soil type distribution, which, in turn, is likely to influence plant community composition. Three Qilian mountains, located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China, with four distinct slope aspects including south‐facing (SF), southwest‐facing (SW), northwest‐facing (NW), and north‐facing (NF) slope aspects, were studied to investigate the impact of slope aspect on plant assemblages. The results indicated that the environmental conditions were favorable under the NF and NW slope aspects as the soil water, soil organic carbon (SOC), and soil total nitrogen (STN) contents were significantly higher, and soil temperature (ST) and soil bulk density (SBD) were significantly lower than under the SF and SW aspects. Under all slope aspects, however, SOC, STN, and soil total phosphate in the top 0.2 m of topsoil accounted for about 60% of its total quantity, to a soil depth of 0.6 m. The plant communities on the SF and SW slopes were found to be primarily composed of Poa pratensis, Potentilla anrisena, and Carex aridula. In contrast, the plant community on the NW slope was mainly composed of Kobresia humilis, Carex crebra, and Potentilla bifurca, while on the NF slope it was mainly composed of Picea crassifolia, Carex scabrirostris, and Polygonum macrophyllum. The order of the influence of environmental factors on species distributions was ST > SBD > sand > STN. Results suggest that the slope aspect has an important role in the regulation of the soil environment and plant assemblages and that ST and SBD were the main factors influencing plant community composition. Furthermore, evidence from this study suggests that these mountains will become increasingly vulnerable to global warming. Thus, the plant community composition on these mountains must be monitored continuously in order to allow for strategic adaptive management.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

et al. 2019

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“…The concentrations of soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus at the sites have been reported by Ai et al (2017a). Soil pH and available phosphorus (SAP), ammonium N (NH 4 ), nitrate N (NO 3 ), water-soluble organic C (WSOC), water-soluble NH 4 (WNH 4 ), and watersoluble NO 3 (WNO 3 ) contents were measured as described by Ai et al (2017b).…”

Section: Microbial Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Slope aspect can therefore substantially affect soil-moisture content, water budget, and soil temperatures (Sidari et al, 2008;Carletti et al, 2009;Sariyildiz et al, 2005;Dearborn and Danby, 2017). The effect of slope aspect on basic soil properties (pH, bulk density, and texture), nutrient contents Z. M. Ai et al: Influence of slope aspect on microbial properties (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), microbial biomass, and enzymatic activities have been studied (Ai et al, 2017a;Ascher et al, 2012;Gilliam et al, 2014;Huang et al, 2015;Sidari et al, 2008;Qin et al, 2016;Bardelli et al, 2017;Liu et al, 2017). Previous research indicated that slope aspect markedly affects soil and microbiological properties in micro-ecosystem environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main vegetation in the region includes woods such as Robinia pseudoacacia and Platycladus orientalis; shrubs such as Caragana korshinskii, Hippophae rhamnoides, Syzygium aromaticum, and Ostryopsis davidiana; and herbage such as Artemisia sacrorum, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Setaria viridis, Artemisia giraldii, and Artemisia capillaris. Details of the soil properties and a map of sampling sites were described by Ai et al (2017a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of slope aspect on the microbial properties of rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric soils on the Loess Plateau, China

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2018

Solid Earth

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Abstract. Slope aspect is an important topographic factor in the micro-ecosystem environment, but its effect on the microbial properties of grassland rhizospheric soil (RS) and non-rhizospheric soil (NRS) remain unclear. A field experiment was conducted at the Ansai Research Station on the Loess Plateau in China to test the influence of slope aspects (south-facing, north-facing, and northwest-facing slopes, all with Artemisia sacrorum as the dominant species) on RS and NRS microbial biomass carbon (MBC) contents, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) contents, and the rhizospheric effect (RE) of various microbial indices. Soil samples were collected from the three slope aspects, including rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric region, and analyzed to determine the various related microbial indices. The results showed that MBC content differed significantly among the slope aspects in RS but not in NRS, and the RE for MBC content in the south-facing slope was larger than that in the north-facing slope. RS total, bacterial, and Gram-positive bacterial PLFA contents in the south-facing slope were significantly lower than those in the north- and northwest-facing slopes, and RS Gram-negative bacterial (G−) and actinomycete PLFA contents in the south-facing slope were significantly lower than those in the north-facing slope. In contrast, NRS total, bacterial, and G− PLFA contents in the north-facing slope were significantly higher than those in the south- and northwest-facing slopes, and NRS fungal and actinomycete PLFA contents in the north- and south-facing slopes were significantly higher than those in the northwest-facing slope. RE for all PLFA contents except fungal in the northwest-facing slope were higher than those in the south-facing slope. Slope aspect significantly but differentially affected the microbial properties in RS and NRS, and the variable influence was due to an evident RE for most microbial properties.

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“…As a vital topographic factor, slope aspect affects the daily cycle of solar radiation and has a strong influence on aspects of the microclimate, especially air and soil temperature, soil moisture and soil nutrition (Rosenberg et al, 1983;Fekedulegn et al, 2003;Auslander et al, 2003). Soil temperature and moisture significantly influence soil nutrient mineralization in different slope aspects (Sternberg and Shoshany, 2001; Ai et al, 2017). Previous studies found that the spatial variation in slope aspect was a determinant element for community structure, species diversity, ecosystem processes and plant functional traits (De Bello et al, 2006;Bennie et al, 2008;Carletti et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant Traits and Biomass Allocation of Gentiana Hexaphylla on Different Slope Aspects at the Eastern Margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Xue¹

2018

Appl. Ecol. Env. Res.

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Abstract. The growth, biomass partitioning and reproduction of alpine Gentiana hexaphylla species in local microclimates have important ecological significance in the study of the adaptation strategies of alpine plants. At the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China we set up eight sample positions surrounded by mountains at an altitude of 4000 m and subsequently transplanted and measured the indices of growth, biomass allocation and reproduction of Gentiana hexaphylla to investigate the adaptation strategies in different slope aspects. Our results showed that slope aspects significantly affected the survival and reproduction strategies of Gentiana hexaphylla. Plants growing on sunny slopes tend to reproduce sexually, and those growing on shady slope are inclined to reproduce asexually. Along the circumference of the mountain, from slope S to slope SW, the growth of plant height from the early vegetation stage to the full bloom stage showed a wave shape and biomass accumulation showed a "W"-like pattern. The adaption strategy of Gentiana hexaphylla has a stronger correlation with soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen and phosphorus than with light intensity, soil annual temperature and soil water content. Our results will help to understand the physiological adaptation of Gentiana hexaphylla in different slope aspects and explore the rule of plant functions and character responses to various habitats, so as to reveal the life cycle strategy.

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Slope aspect affects the non-structural carbohydrates and C:N:P stoichiometry of Artemisia sacrorum on the Loess Plateau in China

Cited by 40 publications

References 44 publications

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

Controlling factors of plant community composition with respect to the slope aspect gradient in the Qilian Mountains

Influence of slope aspect on the microbial properties of rhizospheric and non-rhizospheric soils on the Loess Plateau, China

Plant Traits and Biomass Allocation of Gentiana Hexaphylla on Different Slope Aspects at the Eastern Margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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