Dataset Information

Anthropogenic disturbances are key to maintaining the biodiversity of grasslands.

ABSTRACT: Although anthropogenic disturbances are often perceived as detrimental to plant biodiversity, the relationship between biodiversity and disturbance remains unclear. Opinions diverge on how natural diversity is generated and maintained. We conducted a large-scale investigation of a temperate grassland system in Inner Mongolia and assessed the richness-disturbance relationship using grazing intensity, the primary anthropogenic disturbance in the region. Vascular plant-species richness peaked at an intermediate level of anthropogenic disturbance. Our results support the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, which provides a valid and useful measure of biodiversity at a metacommunity scale, indicating that anthropogenic disturbances are necessary to conserve the biodiversity of grassland systems.

SUBMITTER: Yuan ZY

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4763272 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Anthropogenic disturbances are key to maintaining the biodiversity of grasslands.

Yuan Z Y ZY Jiao F F Li Y H YH Kallenbach Robert L RL

Scientific reports 20160223

Although anthropogenic disturbances are often perceived as detrimental to plant biodiversity, the relationship between biodiversity and disturbance remains unclear. Opinions diverge on how natural diversity is generated and maintained. We conducted a large-scale investigation of a temperate grassland system in Inner Mongolia and assessed the richness-disturbance relationship using grazing intensity, the primary anthropogenic disturbance in the region. Vascular plant-species richness peaked at an ...[more]

PMID: 26903041

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Dataset Information

Anthropogenic disturbances are key to maintaining the biodiversity of grasslands.

Publications

Anthropogenic disturbances are key to maintaining the biodiversity of grasslands.

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