Dataset Information

Community level offset of rain use- and transpiration efficiency for a heavily grazed ecosystem in inner Mongolia grassland.

ABSTRACT: Water use efficiency (WUE) is a key indicator to assess ecosystem adaptation to water stress. Rain use efficiency (RUE) is usually used as a proxy for WUE due to lack of transpiration data. Furthermore, RUE based on aboveground primary productivity (RUEANPP) is used to evaluate whole plant water use because root production data is often missing as well. However, it is controversial as to whether RUE is a reliable parameter to elucidate transpiration efficiency (TE), and whether RUEANPP is a suitable proxy for RUE of the whole plant basis. The experiment was conducted at three differently managed sites in the Inner Mongolia steppe: a site fenced since 1979 (UG79), a winter grazing site (WG) and a heavily grazed site (HG). Site HG had consistent lowest RUEANPP and RUE based on total net primary productivity (RUENPP). RUEANPP is a relatively good proxy at sites UG79 and WG, but less reliable for site HG. Similarly, RUEANPP is good predictor of transpiration efficiency based on aboveground net primary productivity (TEANPP) at sites UG79 and WG but not for site HG. However, if total net primary productivity is considered, RUENPP is good predictor of transpiration efficiency based on total net primary productivity (TENPP) for all sites. Although our measurements indicate decreased plant transpiration and consequentially decreasing RUE under heavy grazing, productivity was relatively compensated for with a higher TE. This offset between RUE and TE was even enhanced under water limited conditions and more evident when belowground net primary productivity (BNNP) was included. These findings suggest that BNPP should be considered when studies fucus on WUE of more intensively used grasslands. The consideration of the whole plant perspective and "real" WUE would partially revise our picture of system performance and therefore might affect the discussion on the C-sequestration and resilience potential of ecosystems.

SUBMITTER: Gao YZ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3776764 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Community level offset of rain use- and transpiration efficiency for a heavily grazed ecosystem in inner Mongolia grassland.

Gao Ying Z YZ Giese Marcus M Gao Qiang Q Brueck Holger H Sheng Lian X LX Yang Hai J HJ

PloS one 20130918 9

Water use efficiency (WUE) is a key indicator to assess ecosystem adaptation to water stress. Rain use efficiency (RUE) is usually used as a proxy for WUE due to lack of transpiration data. Furthermore, RUE based on aboveground primary productivity (RUEANPP) is used to evaluate whole plant water use because root production data is often missing as well. However, it is controversial as to whether RUE is a reliable parameter to elucidate transpiration efficiency (TE), and whether RUEANPP is a suit ...[more]

PMID: 24058632

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Project description: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.

Project description:Biodiversity underpins grassland ecological functions and productive capacities. By studying the mechanisms for the maintenance of species diversity in animal communities, we can provide important theoretical guidance for the optimization of grazing management and biodiversity protection. The typical grassland of Xilingol in Inner Mongolia, China, was used as the experimental area, and a grazing intensity experiment was set up. This consisted of four gradient levels that were grazed by sheep, which were available for continuous monitoring, namely control standard sheep unit·day·hectare-1·year-1 (CK, 0 SSU·d·hm-2y-1), light grazing (LG, 170 SSU·d·hm-2·y-1), moderate grazing (MG, 340 SSU·d·hm-2·y-1), and high grazing (HG, 510 SSU·d·hm-2·y-1). Nine consecutive years of multi-indicator monitoring of vegetation was carried out from 2014-2022, using monitoring data coupled with time series and inter-annual climatic (relative moisture index, RMI) fluctuations. This was done to analyze the impacts of disturbances, such as grazing use and climatic fluctuations, on the diversity of species and above-ground productivity of the community, thereby exploring the relationship between diversity and productivity, and provide possible explanations for the emergence of a range of ecological responses. The statistical analysis methods used were One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), general linear regression and mixed-effects models. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: (1) The grassland in the experimental area under CK had the highest diversity and productivity and the ecosystem was better able to buffer the negative impacts of climatic drought. Furthermore, the effect of climate on productivity and diversity weakened as the intensity of grazing increased. (2) LG to MG had a constant diversity. (3) Grazing utilization changed the relationship between community species diversity and aboveground productivity by releasing spatial community resources, altering the structure of plant communities, weakening competitive exclusion, and strengthening complementary effects. However, under all of the conditions there is a brief stage in the time series when diversity is stimulated to increase, and the higher the grazing intensity, the earlier this occurs.

Dataset Information

Community level offset of rain use- and transpiration efficiency for a heavily grazed ecosystem in inner Mongolia grassland.

Publications

Community level offset of rain use- and transpiration efficiency for a heavily grazed ecosystem in inner Mongolia grassland.

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