scholarly journals Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size‐related traits across the tundra biome

Author(s):  
H. J. D. Thomas ◽  
I. H. Myers‐Smith ◽  
A. D. Bjorkman ◽  
S. C. Elmendorf ◽  
D. Blok ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 106179
Author(s):  
Zhiying Ning ◽  
Xueyong Zhao ◽  
Yulin Li ◽  
Lilong Wang ◽  
Jie Lian ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria D. Yiakoulaki ◽  
Nikolaos D. Hasanagas ◽  
Eleni Michelaki ◽  
Eleni T. Tsiobani ◽  
Ioannis E. Antoniou

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (65) ◽  
pp. 14485-14492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liao Bing Hua ◽  
Ding Sheng Yan ◽  
Liang Guo Fu ◽  
Guo Yi Li ◽  
Tian Li ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 074031
Author(s):  
Shijie Li ◽  
Fuwei Wang ◽  
Mengfei Chen ◽  
Zhengyi Liu ◽  
Luyao Zhou ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3153
Author(s):  
Ditmar Kurtz ◽  
Marcus Giese ◽  
Folkard Asch ◽  
Saskia Windisch ◽  
María Goldfarb

High impact grazing (HIG) was proposed as a management option to reduce standing dead biomass in Northern Argentinean (Chaco) rangelands. However, the effects of HIG on grassland diversity and shifts in plant functional groups are largely unknown but essential to assess the sustainability of the impact. During a two-year grazing experiment, HIG was applied every month to analyze the seasonal effects on plant species composition and plant functional groups. The results indicate that irrespective of the season in which HIG was applied, the diversity parameters were not negatively affected. Species richness, the Shannon–Wiener diversity index and the Shannon’s equitability index did not differ from the control site within a 12-month period after HIG. While plant functional groups of dicotyledonous and annual species could not benefit from the HIG disturbance, C3-, C4-monocotyledonous and perennials increased their absolute and relative green cover. Our results suggest that HIG, if not applied in shorter frequencies than a year, neither alters diversity nor shifts the plant species composition of the grassland plant community, but instead it promotes previously established rather competitive species. HIG could therefore contribute as an alternative management practice to the sustainable land use intensification of the “Gran Chaco” grassland ecosystem and even counteract the encroachment of “low value” species.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi-Peng Zhang ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Hong-Liang Gu ◽  
Zhi-Gang Zhang ◽  
Qian Wang

Many studies reported the effect on plant functional groups and plant diversity under discontinuous slope gradient. However, studies on the effect of continuous slope gradient on plant functional groups and plant diversity in alpine meadows have rarely been conducted. We studied the effect of a continuous slope gradient on the dominance characteristics of plant functional groups and plant diversity of alpine meadows on the Tibetan plateau—in Hezuo area of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Altogether, 84 samples of alpine meadows grass and 84 soil samples from seven slope gradients at sunlit slopes were collected. By using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation coefficient, this study revealed: (1) Continuous slope gradient is an important factor affecting plant communities in alpine meadows, due to the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil and water content. The number of families, genera, and species increased first then decreased at the different slope gradient levels, respectively; (2) there is a close relationship between the soil and plant functional groups, and plant diversity. In other words, the slope determines the functional groups of plants and the soil nutrients; and (3) soil characteristics (pH value, Soil Total Nitrogen, Soil Water Content) are the determining factors of the plant community characteristics at each slope gradient level. To conclude, a continuous slope gradient is an important factor that affects plant communities in alpine meadows.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Richardson ◽  
Praveen Kumar

Abstract Can the Second Law of Thermodynamics explain why ecosystems naturally organize into a complex structure composed of multiple vegetation species and functional groups? Ecosystem structure, which refers to the number and type of plant functional groups, is the result of self-organization, or the spontaneous emergence of order from random fluctuations. By considering ecosystems as open thermodynamic systems, we model and study these fluctuations of throughput signatures on short timescales to determine the drivers and characteristics of ecosystem structure. This diagnostic approach allows us to use fluxes of energy and entropy to calculate an ecosystem’s estimated work and understand the thermodynamic behavior of the system. We use a multi-layer canopy-root-soil model to calculate the energy and entropy fluxes of different scenarios for field sites across various climates. At each site, scenarios comprised of native individual plant functional groups and a coexisting multi-group composition scenario including all functional groups observed at the site are compared. Ecosystem-scale calculations demonstrate that entropy fluxes and work efficiency—the work performed for the amount of radiation entering the ecosystem—are greatest in the multi-group scenario when its leaf area is significantly larger than each of its individual functional groups. Thus, we conclude that ecosystems self-organize towards the vegetation structure with the greatest outgoing entropy flux and work efficiency, resulting in the coexistence of multiple functional groups and performing the maximum amount of work within the constraints of locally available energy, water, and nutrients.


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