scholarly journals Life history responses of two ephemeral plant species to increased precipitation and nitrogen in the Gurbantunggut Desert

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanfeng Chen ◽  
Lingwei Zhang ◽  
Xiang Shi ◽  
Huiliang Liu ◽  
Daoyuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Germination Percentage ◽  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Ephemeral Plant ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert

Precipitation change and nitrogen deposition are not only hot topics of current global change but also the main environmental factors affecting plant growth in desert ecosystems. Thus, we performed an experiment of increased precipitation, nitrogen, and precipitation plus nitrogen on the ephemeral annual species Nepeta micrantha and Eremopyrum distans in the Gurbantunggut Desert. We aimed to determine the life history responses of N. micrantha and E. distans to environment changes, and the germination percentage of the offspring (seeds) was also tested in the laboratory. The results showed that increased nitrogen and precipitation plus nitrogen increased the growth of both plant species, whereas increased precipitation inhibited the growth of N. micrantha but increased the growth of E. distans. This differential response of these two species to precipitation and nitrogen also affected the germination of their offspring. In response to increased nitrogen and precipitation plus nitrogen, the germination percentage of the offspring produced by two species decreased in conjunction with the plants exhibiting high reproduction, which may prevent overcrowding during the following year; however, the N. micrantha plants produced more nondormant offspring in conjunction with low reproduction under relatively greater amounts of precipitation, and N. micrantha offspring could occupy their habitat via rapid germination in suitable environments. Therefore, with increased precipitation and nitrogen deposition, these differences in offspring dormancy may affect their ecological niche in the community.

scholarly journals Trait–Abundance Relationships of Annual Ephemerals in Response to Nitrogen Addition in Gurbantunggut Desert

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 569
Author(s):  
Mao Wang ◽  
Haiyang Ma ◽  
Dunyan Tan
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Nitrogen Addition ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Atmospheric Nitrogen ◽  
Desert Ecosystems ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert ◽  
Good Proxy

Understanding the effect of nitrogen addition on species trait–abundance relationships is one of the central focuses of community ecology and can offer us insights into the mechanisms of community assembly under atmospheric nitrogen deposition. However, few studies have focused on desert ecosystems. In this study, we measured the abundance and ecological stoichiometric traits, leaf carbon content (LCC), nitrogen content (LNC), and phosphorus content (LPC) for all annual ephemerals in all plots subjected to nitrogen addition in early spring in Gurbantunggut Desert, northern Xinjiang, China. We found a significant relationship between traits (LNC, N:P, and C:N) and abundance, indicating that ecological stoichiometry is a good proxy for explaining and predicting species abundance. We further found that significant trait–abundance relationships still existed under different nitrogen addition levels. The result suggests that trait-based niche-assembly theory plays an important role in determining species abundance under atmospheric nitrogen deposition.

scholarly journals Mismatches between demographic niches and geographic distributions are strongest in poorly dispersed and highly persistent plant species

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 3663-3669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörn Pagel ◽  
Martina Treurnicht ◽  
William J. Bond ◽  
Tineke Kraaij ◽  
Henning Nottebrock ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Geographic Distributions

The ecological niche of a species describes the variation in population growth rates along environmental gradients that drives geographic range dynamics. Niches are thus central for understanding and forecasting species’ geographic distributions. However, theory predicts that migration limitation, source–sink dynamics, and time-lagged local extinction can cause mismatches between niches and geographic distributions. It is still unclear how relevant these niche–distribution mismatches are for biodiversity dynamics and how they depend on species life-history traits. This is mainly due to a lack of the comprehensive, range-wide demographic data needed to directly infer ecological niches for multiple species. Here we quantify niches from extensive demographic measurements along environmental gradients across the geographic ranges of 26 plant species (Proteaceae; South Africa). We then test whether life history explains variation in species’ niches and niche–distribution mismatches. Niches are generally wider for species with high seed dispersal or persistence abilities. Life-history traits also explain the considerable interspecific variation in niche–distribution mismatches: poorer dispersers are absent from larger parts of their potential geographic ranges, whereas species with higher persistence ability more frequently occupy environments outside their ecological niche. Our study thus identifies major demographic and functional determinants of species’ niches and geographic distributions. It highlights that the inference of ecological niches from geographical distributions is most problematic for poorly dispersed and highly persistent species. We conclude that the direct quantification of ecological niches from demographic responses to environmental variation is a crucial step toward a better predictive understanding of biodiversity dynamics under environmental change.

scholarly journals Seed Dispersal and Germination Traits of 70 Plant Species Inhabiting the Gurbantunggut Desert in Northwest China

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiliang Liu ◽  
Daoyuan Zhang ◽  
Xuejun Yang ◽  
Zhenying Huang ◽  
Shimin Duan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Seed Size ◽  
Seed Mass ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Germination Percentage ◽  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
Seed Shape ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert ◽  
Germination Traits

Seed dispersal and germination were examined for 70 species from the cold Gurbantunggut Desert in northwest China. Mean and range (3 orders of magnitude) of seed mass were smaller and narrower than those in other floras (5–8 orders of magnitude), which implies that selection favors relatively smaller seeds in this desert. We identified five dispersal syndromes (anemochory, zoochory, autochory, barochory, and ombrohydrochory), and anemochorous species were most abundant. Seed mass (F=3.50,P=0.01), seed size (F=8.31,P<0.01), and seed shape (F=2.62,P=0.04) differed significantly among the five dispersal syndromes and barochorous species were significantly smaller and rounder than the others. There were no significant correlations between seed mass (seed weight) (P=0.15), seed size (P=0.38), or seed shape (variance) (P=0.95) and germination percentage. However, germination percentages differed significantly among the dispersal syndromes (F=3.64,P=0.01) and seeds of ombrohydrochorous species had higher germination percentages than those of the other species. In the Gurbantunggut Desert, the percentage of species with seed dormancy was about 80%. In general, our studies suggest that adaptive strategies in seed dispersal and germination of plants in this area are closely related to the environment in which they live and that they are influenced by natural selection forces.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Diaspore Characteristics with Phylogeny, Life History Traits, and Their Ecological Adaptation of 150 Species from the Cold Desert of Northwest China

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Liang Liu ◽  
Dao-Yuan Zhang ◽  
Shi-Min Duan ◽  
Xi-Yong Wang ◽  
Ming-Fang Song
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Biological Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Adaptation ◽  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
Cold Desert ◽  
Dispersal Syndromes ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert ◽  
The Relationship

Diaspore characteristics of 22 families, including 102 genera and 150 species (55 represented by seeds and 95 by fruits) from the Gurbantunggut Desert were analyzed for diaspore biological characteristics (mass, shape, color, and appendage type). The diaspore mass and shape were significantly different in phylogeny group (APG) and dispersal syndromes; vegetative periods significantly affected diaspore mass, but not diaspore shape; and ecotypes did not significantly affect diaspore mass and shape, but xerophyte species had larger diaspore mass than mesophyte species. Unique stepwise ANOVA results showed that variance in diaspore mass and shape among these 150 species was largely dependent upon phylogeny and dispersal syndromes. Therefore, it was suggested that phylogeny may constrain diaspore mass, and as dispersal syndromes may be related to phylogeny, they also constrained diaspore mass and shape. Diaspores of 85 species (56.67%) had appendages, including 26 with wings/bracts, 18 with pappus/hair, 14 with hooks/spines, 10 with awns, and 17 with other types of appendages. Different traits (mass, shape, color, appendage, and dispersal syndromes) of diaspore decided plants forming different adapted strategies in the desert. In summary, the diaspore characteristics were closely related with phylogeny, vegetative periods, dispersal syndromes, and ecotype, and these characteristics allowed the plants to adapt to extreme desert environments.

scholarly journals Distribution of plant species and species-soil relationship in the east central Gurbantunggut Desert, China

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping An ◽  
Xiangjun Li ◽  
Yuanrun Zheng ◽  
A. Egrinya Eneji ◽  
Yunus Qiman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
East Central ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert

Responses of ephemeral plant germination and growth to water and heat conditions in the southern part of Gurbantunggut Desert

2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (S1) ◽  
pp. 110-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xueqing Wang ◽  
Jin Jiang ◽  
Yuanchao Wang ◽  
Weilin Luo ◽  
Chunwu Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gurbantunggut Desert ◽  
Ephemeral Plant ◽  
Gurbantünggüt Desert ◽  
Germination And Growth ◽  
Plant Germination
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