10.5061/DRYAD.R5M20
Niu, Kechang
McGill University
Nanjing University
Peking University
He, Jin-Sheng
Peking University
Lechowicz, Martin J.
McGill University
Data from: Grazing-induced shifts in community functional composition and
soil nutrient availability in Tibetan alpine meadows
Dryad
dataset
2017
Thalictrum
Pleurospermum
Elymus
Iris
Saposhnikovia
Plantago
Geranium
Halenia
Lancea
Gentiana
Ligularia
Ajania
Caltha
Trollius
Anaphalis
Poa
Gentianopsis
Potentilla
Medicago
Lamiophlomis
soil fertility
Taraxacum
Astragalus
Allium
Euphorbia
Leontopodium
Polygonum
Oxytropis
Community structure
Carex
Holocene
Stipa
Aster
Scirpus
Festuca
Ranunculus
Deschampsia
Bupleurum
Sanguisorba
grazing rotation
Daucus
Cremanthodium
Saussurea
Agrostis
Heteropappus
Kobresia
Hypecoum
Nardostachys
Pedicularis
Artemisia
Dracocephalum
Cirsium
Roegneria
rangeland sustainability
Gueldenstaedtia
Cerastium
Anemone
Galium
2017-06-14T00:00:00Z
2017-06-14T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12727
55101 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The functional structure of plant communities can be altered by grazing
through two main mechanisms: species turnover (i.e. changes in species
occurrence and relative abundance) and intraspecific trait variability
(ITV), which is driven by phenotypic responses of individual plants and
shifts in the relative abundance of genotypic variants within species.
Studies of grassland ecosystem function under grazing often focus on
community changes induced by species turnover, which ignores the effects
of ITV on biomass productivity, soil carbon or nutrient availability. By
quantifying the relative contribution of both effects on shifts in
community-wide traits, we highlight the role of ITV in community
functional response to grazing and its implications for ecosystem function
in Tibetan alpine meadows. We measured three chemical traits (LC: leaf
carbon, LN: leaf nitrogen and LP: leaf phosphorus concentrations) and two
morphological traits (SLA: specific leaf area, LDMC: leaf dry matter
content) that are critical components of plant production and forage
quality in grazed and ungrazed plots. Using variance decomposition of
community-weighted means (CWM) for these foliar traits, we distinguished
the relative importance of ITV vs. change in species occurrence and
abundance in response to grazing and the associated changes in soil carbon
and nutrient availability. The CWM for foliar nutrients and SLACWM
increased in response to grazing together with decreases in soil carbon
and nutrient stores, especially LPCWM enrichment and loss of available
soil P. The LPCWM was strongly negatively correlated with LDMCCWM, which
was significantly higher in ungrazed plots. These community-wide trait
responses to grazing were generally best captured by ITV and not changes
in species occurrence and abundance, although ITV was consistently
correlated with species turnover for all traits. Synthesis and
applications. In response to continuous grazing, plants in Tibetan alpine
meadows increase specific leaf area and foliar nutrients but tend to have
lower leaf dry matter content, a response consistent with faster growth
and regrowth under grazing. This intraspecific trait variability response
drives a shift in community function from conservative, slow-growing
resource use in ungrazed meadows to exploitative resource use under
grazing. This community-wide functional response enhances forage quality,
in turn favouring the secondary productivity of small herbivorous mammal
communities, but also contributes to accelerated depletion of soil
available phosphorus. We discuss the implications of these results for
biodiversity conservation, ecosystem function and rangeland sustainability
in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, especially with regard to managing grazing
rotation to strike a balance between favouring secondary productivity of
domesticated stock vs. small herbivorous mammals.
Niu ,He& Lechowiczl_Data_JAECollected in the field; Site
abbreviation: AZ=AaZi, WLK=WaLaKa,HY=HongYuan,QH=QingHai, NQ=NaQu
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau