Changes in plant species richness distribution in Tibetan alpine grasslands under different precipitation scenarios

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00848

	Changes in plant species richness distribution in Tibetan alpine grasslands under different precipitation scenarios
	Li, Meng 1,2; Zhang, Xianzhou 1; Niu, Ben 1; He, Yongtao 1; Wang, Xiangtao 1,2; Wu, Jianshuang 1,3,4
刊名	GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
	2020-03-01
卷号	21 页码:13
关键词	Climate change Drying and wetting Elevation gradient Random forest modelling Tibetan plateau
ISSN号	2351-9894
DOI	10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00848
通讯作者	Wu, Jianshuang(wujianshuang@caas.cn)
英文摘要	Species richness is the core of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) research. Nevertheless, it is difficult to accurately predict changes in plant species richness under different climate scenarios, especially in alpine biomes. In this study, we surveyed plant species richness from 2009 to 2017 in 75 alpine meadows (AM), 199 alpine steppes (AS), and 71 desert steppes (DS) in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, China. Along with 20 environmental factors relevant to species settlement, development, and survival, we first simulated the spatial pattern of plant species richness under current climate conditions using random forest modelling. Our results showed that simulated species richness matched well with observed values in the field, showing an evident decrease from meadows to steppes and then to deserts. Summer precipitation, which ranked first among the 20 environmental factors, was further confirmed to be the most critical driver of species richness distribution. Next, we simulated and compared species richness patterns under four different precipitation scenarios, increasing and decreasing summer precipitation by 20% and 10%, relative to the current species richness pattern. Our findings showed that species richness in response to altered precipitation was grassland-type specific, with meadows being sensitive to decreasing precipitation, steppes being sensitive to increasing precipitation, and deserts remaining resistant. In addition, species richness at low elevations was more sensitive to decreasing precipitation than to increasing precipitation, implying that droughts might have stronger influences than wetting on species composition. In contrast, species richness at high elevations (also in deserts) changed slightly under different precipitation scenarios, likely due to harsh physical conditions and small species pools for plant recruitment and survival. Finally, we suggest that policymakers and herdsmen pay more attention to alpine grasslands in central Tibet and at low elevations where species richness is sensitive to precipitation changes. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
资助项目	Second Scientific Expedition and Research on the Tibetan Plateau (STEP)[2019QZKK1002] ; National Key Research and Development Project of China[2016YFC0502001] ; National Key Research and Development Project of China[2017YFA0604801] ; National Natural Sciences Foundation of China[41571042] ; National Natural Sciences Foundation of China[41761008] ; Chinese Academy of Sciences project[KFJ-STS-ZDTP036] ; West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
WOS关键词	CLIMATE-CHANGE ; BIODIVERSITY LOSS ; USE EFFICIENCY ; RANDOM FOREST ; DIVERSITY ; PRODUCTIVITY ; ECOSYSTEM ; PLATEAU ; GRADIENT ; RESPONSES
WOS研究方向	Biodiversity & Conservation ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
语种	英语
出版者	ELSEVIER
WOS记录号	WOS:000517814100044
资助机构	Second Scientific Expedition and Research on the Tibetan Plateau (STEP) ; National Key Research and Development Project of China ; National Natural Sciences Foundation of China ; Chinese Academy of Sciences project ; West Light Foundation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://ir.igsnrr.ac.cn/handle/311030/132809]
专题	中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所
通讯作者	Wu, Jianshuang
作者单位	1.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, Key Lab Ecosyst Network Observat & Modelling, Lhasa Plateau Ecosyst Res Stn, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China 3.Free Univ Berlin, Inst Biol Biodivers Theoret Ecol, D-14195 Berlin, Germany 4.Chinese Acad Agr Sci, Inst Environm & Sustainable Dev Agr, Beijing 100081, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Li, Meng,Zhang, Xianzhou,Niu, Ben,et al. Changes in plant species richness distribution in Tibetan alpine grasslands under different precipitation scenarios[J]. GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION,2020,21:13.
APA	Li, Meng,Zhang, Xianzhou,Niu, Ben,He, Yongtao,Wang, Xiangtao,&Wu, Jianshuang.(2020).Changes in plant species richness distribution in Tibetan alpine grasslands under different precipitation scenarios.GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION,21,13.
MLA	Li, Meng,et al."Changes in plant species richness distribution in Tibetan alpine grasslands under different precipitation scenarios".GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 21(2020):13.