Alpine Desert Steppe Research Articles

Differences in species diversity, biomass, and soil properties of five types of alpine grasslands in the Northern Tibetan Plateau.

Approximately 94% of the land area of the Northern Tibetan Plateau is covered by grasslands, which comprise one of five key livestock producing regions in China. In contrast to most other regions worldwide, these alpine grasslands are much more sensitive to global climate change, thus they are under intense study. The differences in species diversity, plant biomass, and soil properties of five representative's alpine grassland types in the Northern Tibetan Plateau were investigated in this research. The results revealed that 11 community types were identified according to the importance of dominant species and constructive species. There were significant differences in the Margalef index (H), Simpson diversity index (D), Shannon-wiener diversity index (H'), and Pielou evenness index (J) indices between these five alpine grasslands. Further, the above-ground biomass (AGB), below-ground biomass (BGB), total biomass (TB), root:shoot (R/S) ratio, and coverage showed significant differences in 5 alpine grasslands. There were also considerable variations in the pH, total nitrogen concentration (TN), total phosphorus concentration (TP), soil organic carbon (SOC) and C-to-N ratio (C:N) among the five alpine grasslands. The highest value of biomass and soil characteristics was always in the alpine steppe (AS), or AM, while the lowest of that was in the alpine desert steppe (ADS), or alpine desert (AD). Moreover, there were significant differences in the soil particle size fractions between the five alpine grasslands. In the AM and AS, the dominant soil particle was clay, while in the alpine meadow-steppe (AMS), ADS, and AD it was fine and medium sand. Substantial correlations were found between the biomass and species diversity indices H, D or H' and soil TN, TP, or SOC. Moreover, silt had a significantly positive correlation with soil C:N, BGB, TB, and R/S, while medium sand and coarse sand was significant negatively correlated. With regard to these grassland types, it is proposed that the AM or AS may be an actively changing grassland types in the Northern Tibetan Plateau.

Nitrogen economy of alpine plants on the north Tibetan Plateau: Nitrogen conservation by resorption rather than open sources through biological symbiotic fixation.

Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important factors limiting plant productivity, and N fixation by legume species is an important source of N input into ecosystems. Meanwhile, N resorption from senescent plant tissues conserves nutrients taken up in the current season, which may alleviate ecosystem N limitation. N fixation was assessed by the 15N dilution technique in four types of alpine grasslands along the precipitation and soil nutrient gradients. The N resorption efficiency (NRE) was also measured in these alpine grasslands. The aboveground biomass in the alpine meadow was 4–6 times higher than in the alpine meadow steppe, alpine steppe, and alpine desert steppe. However, the proportion of legume species to community biomass in the alpine steppe and the alpine desert steppe was significantly higher than the proportion in the alpine meadow. N fixation by the legume plants in the alpine meadow was 0.236 g N/m2, which was significantly higher than N fixation in other alpine grasslands (0.041 to 0.089 g N/m2). The NRE in the alpine meadows was lower than in the other three alpine grasslands. Both the aboveground biomass and N fixation of the legume plants showed decreasing trends with the decline of precipitation and soil N gradients from east to west, while the NRE of alpine plants showed increasing trends along the gradients, which indicates that alpine plants enhance the NRE to adapt to the increasing droughts and nutrient‐poor environments. The opposite trends of N fixation and NRE along the precipitation and soil nutrient gradients indicate that alpine plants adapt to precipitation and soil nutrient limitation by promoting NRE (conservative nutrient use by alpine plants) rather than biological N fixation (open sources by legume plants) on the north Tibetan Plateau.

High Below-Ground Productivity Allocation of Alpine Grasslands on the Northern Tibet.

The allocation of net primary production (NPP) between above- and belowground components is a key step of ecosystem material cycling and energy flows, which determines many critical parameters, e.g., the fraction of below ground NPP (BNPP) to NPP (fBNPP) and root turnover rates (RTR), in vegetation models. However, direct NPP estimation and partition are scarcely based on field measurements of biomass dynamics in the alpine grasslands on the Northern Tibetan Plateau (NTP). Consequently, these parameters are unverifiable and controversial. Here, we measured above- and belowground biomass dynamics (monthly from May to September each year from 2013 to 2015) to estimate NPP dynamics and allocations in four typical alpine grassland ecosystems, i.e., an alpine meadow, alpine meadow steppe, alpine steppe and alpine desert steppe. We found that NPP and its components, above and below ground NPP (ANPP and BNPP), increased significantly from west to east on the NTP, and ANPP was mainly affected by temperature while BNPP and NPP were mainly affected by precipitation. The bulk of BNPP was generally concentrated in the top 10 cm soil layers in all four alpine grasslands (76.1% ± 9.1%, mean ± SD). Our results showed that fBNPP was significantly different among these four alpine grasslands, with its means in alpine meadow (0.93), alpine desert steppe (0.92) being larger than that in the alpine meadow steppe (0.76) and alpine steppe (0.77). Both temperature and precipitation had significant and positive effects on the fBNPP, while their interaction effects were significantly opposite. RTR decreased with increasing precipitation, but increased with increasing temperature across this ecoregion. Our study illustrated that alpine grasslands on the NTP, especially in the alpine meadow and alpine desert steppe, partitioned an unexpected and greater NPP to below ground than most historical reports across global grasslands, indicating a more critical role of the root carbon pool in carbon cycling in alpine grasslands on the NTP.

Thermal properties of active layer in permafrost regions with different vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Active layer plays a key role in regulating the dynamics of hydrothermal processes and ecosystems that are sensitive to the changing climate in permafrost regions. However, little is known about the hydrothermal dynamics during freeze-thaw processes in permafrost regions with different vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). In the present study, the freezing and thawing processes at four sites (QT01, 03, 04, and 05) with different vegetation types on the QTP was analyzed. The results indicated that the impact on the soil water and heat during the summer thawing process was markedly greater than that during the autumn freezing process. Furthermore, the thermal-orbit regression slopes for all sites exhibited a homologous variation as the depth increased, with the slowest attenuation for the meadow sites (QT01 and QT03) and a slightly faster attenuation for the desert steppe site (QT05). The air and ground surface temperatures were similar in winter, but the ground surface temperature was significantly higher than the air temperature in summer in the radiation-rich environment at all sites on the QTP. The results also indicated that the n-factors were between 0.36 and 0.55 during the thawing season, and the annual mean temperature near the permafrost table was between − 1.26 and − 1.84 °C. In the alpine desert steppe region, the thermal conditions exhibited to show a warming trend, with a current permafrost table temperature of − 0.22 °C. The annual changing amplitude of the ground temperature at the permafrost table was different for different vegetation types.

Evaluation of reanalysis air temperature products in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Surface air temperature is important for climate change, hydrological, and ecosystems undergoing climate warming in the permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). We monitored daily air temperatures at five sites (alpine desert, alpine desert steppe, alpine steppe, alpine meadow, and alpine wet meadow) from 2011 to 2015 in permafrost regions on the QTP. Using this data, we evaluated the performance of five different reanalysis air temperature products (CFSR, ERA-Interim, GLDAS-NOAH, MERRA, JRA-55, and CMFD). These results demonstrated that the ERA-Interim air temperature products exhibited the best performance at the majority of sites. However, the original ERA-Interim air temperature products were found to overestimate air temperature at most sites. The calibration models were established by the observed daily air temperatures measured from 2013 to 2015 for the ERA-Interim air temperature products, which validated with observational data from 2011 to 2012. Following calibration, ERA-Interim products were found to be closer to the observations made across all sites. In addition, this paper demonstrated a warming trend present in month, seasonal, and annual mean air temperature from the calibration results collected from 1980 to 2015. These results demonstrated that the largest warming trend was observed in February, while the smallest warming trend was observed in March. We demonstrated that all air temperatures warmed fastest in the summer and winter, more slowly in autumn, and the slowest in spring at the majority of sites tested. In addition, we found that the average annual air temperature warming trends were 0.0398, 0.0394, 0.0288, 0.0259, and 0.0254 °C/year in the alpine desert steppe, alpine desert, alpine steppe, alpine meadow, and alpine wet meadow in the permafrost regions on the QTP, respectively. These findings generate a useful tool for the recognizing of the variation in permafrost under climate change in permafrost regions on the QTP.

Variations in soil temperature from 1980 to 2015 in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau based on observed and reanalysis products

Soil temperature is an important physical variable of soil and plays a key role in controlling the underground hydro-thermal processes in permafrost regions on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Daily soil temperatures were observed at five different vegetation cover sites (alpine wet meadow, alpine meadow, alpine steppe, alpine desert steppe and alpine desert) from 2012 to 2015 in permafrost regions on the QTP. The performance of three reanalysis soil temperature products (National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim), and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS- NOAH)) at four depths (0–10, 10–40, 40–100 and 100–200 cm) was evaluated using the observation data. The results revealed that the CFSR soil temperature products had the best performance at most sites and that GLDAS-NOAH and Era-Interim had the poorest performance. However, the original CFSR soil temperature products underestimated the lowest temperatures. The calibration models for CFSR soil temperature products were established using the observed daily soil temperature from 2013 to 2015 and were validated with observed data from 2012. The results showed that the calibrated CFSv2 products were closer to the observations at different depths in the study sites. Moreover, we investigated the variations of seasonal and annual mean soil temperature from 1980 to 2015 at depths of 0–10, 10–40, 40–100 and 100–200 cm using the soil temperature calibration results. It was found that the soil temperatures at different depths all warmed fastest in spring, more slowly in winter and slowest in autumn at most sites. In addition, the average annual soil temperature exhibited significant warming trends in the permafrost regions on the QTP. The effect was largest with alpine desert steppe and smallest with alpine wet meadow, with statistically significant rates of 0.0599, 0.0468, 0.0438, 0.0282 and 0.0145 °C/year in alpine desert steppe, alpine desert, alpine steppe, alpine meadow and alpine wet meadow, respectively. This research provides a foundation for understanding the thermal properties of permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau under climate change.

Soil conservation service on the Tibetan Plateau, 1984–2013

ABSTRACTSoil erosion can pose a serious problem to environmental quality and sustainable development. On the Tibetan Plateau, soil erosion is one of the main challenges to regional ecological security. Our analysis investigates soil erosion and evaluates its economic value in alpine steppe, alpine meadow, alpine desert steppe and forest ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau. Analysis was carried out from 1984 to 2013. The results show that the annual average potential soil erosion, practical soil erosion and soil conservation calculated by the Revised University Soil Loss Equation model were 2.19×109ta–1, 2.16×109ta–1 and 2.72×107ta–1, respectively. The economic value of retaining soil nutrients, reducing the formation of wasteland and the economic benefit of reducing sediment deposition were 1.98×108RMBa–1, 2.55×1012RMBa–1 and 7.44×104RMBa–1, respectively. From comparing different ecosystems, we found that the forest ecosystem had the greatest soil retention and economic values. We also found that the potential and actual soil erosion values were extremely high on the Tibetan Plateau. The study highlights that state and local policymakers must give greater emphasis to ecological protection in the future.

Soil infiltration processes of different underlying surfaces in the permafrost region on the Tibetan Plateau

ABSTRACTSoil infiltration processes were evaluated under field conditions by double-ring infiltrometers with different underlying surfaces in permafrost regions of the Tibetan Plateau. The results show that initial infiltration rates, stable soil infiltration rates and cumulative soil infiltration are strongly dependent on the underlying surface types, with the highest initial and stable soil infiltration rates in the alpine desert steppe, and the lowest in alpine meadow. The effects of soil moisture and texture on infiltration processes were also assessed. Within the same underlying surfaces, the values of infiltration parameters increased with the amount of vegetation cover, while soil moisture and soil infiltration rates displayed opposing trends, with fitting slopes of −0.03 and −0.01 for the initial and stable soil infiltration rates, respectively. The accuracies of the five models in simulating soil infiltration rates and seven models in predicting cumulative infiltration rates were evaluated against data generated from field experiments at four sites. Based on a comparative analysis, the Horton model provided the most complete understanding of the underlying surface effects on soil infiltration processes. Altogether, these findings show that different underlying surfaces can alter soil infiltration processes. This study provides a useful reference for understanding the parameterization of land surface processes for simulating changes in hydrological processes under global warming conditions in the permafrost region on the Tibetan Plateau.

Assessment of reanalysis soil moisture products in the permafrost regions of the central of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

AbstractThe long‐term and large‐scale soil moisture (SM) record is important for understanding land atmosphere interactions and their impacts on the weather, climate, and regional ecosystem. SM products are one of the parameters used in some Earth system models, but these records require evaluation before use. The water resources on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) are important to the water security of billions of people in Asia. Therefore, it is necessary to know the SM conditions on the QTP. In this study, the evaluation metrics of multilayer (0–10, 10–40, and 40–100 cm) SM in different reanalysis datasets of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts interim reanalysis (ERA‐Interim [ERA]), National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System and the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2), and China Meteorological Administration Land Data Assimilation System (CLDAS) are compared with in situ observations at 5 observation sites, which represent alpine meadow, alpine swamp meadow, alpine grassy meadow, alpine desert steppe, and alpine steppe environments during the thawing season from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2013, on the QTP. The ERA SM remains constant at approximately 0.2 m3⋅m−3 at all observation sites during the entire thawing season. The CLDAS and CFSv2 SM products show similar patterns with those of the in situ SM observations during the thawing season. The CLDAS SM product performs better than the CFSv2 and ERA for all vegetation types except the alpine swamp meadow. The results indicate that the soil texture and land cover types play a more important role than the precipitation to increase the biases of the CLDAS SM product on the QTP.

Alpine grassland fPAR change over the Northern Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2011

In this study, two different methods including Digital Camera and Reference Panel (DCRP) and traditional in situ fPAR observation for measuring the in situ point fPAR of very short alpine grass vegetation were compared, and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fPAR products were evaluated and validated by in situ point data on the alpine grassland over the Northern Tibetan Plateau, which is sensitive to climate change and vulnerable to anthropogenic activities. Results showed that the MODIS alpine grassland fPAR product, examined by using DCRP, and traditional in situ fPAR observation had a significant relationship at the spatial and temporal scales. The decadal MODIS fPAR trend analysis showed that, average growing season fPAR increased by 1.2 × 10−4 per year and in total increased 0.86% from 2002 to 2011 in alpine grassland, when most of the fPAR increments occurred in southeast and center of the Northern Tibetan Plateau, the alpine grassland tended to recover from degradation slightly. However, climatic factors have influenced the various alpine grassland vegetation fPAR over a period of 10 years; precipitation significantly affected the alpine meadow fPAR in the eastern region, whereas temperature considerably influenced the alpine desert steppe fPAR in the west region. These findings suggest that the regional heterogeneity in alpine grassland fPAR results from various environmental factors, except for vegetation characteristics, such as canopy structure and leaf area.

西藏高原草地生态系统丛枝菌根真菌的地理分布

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 西藏高原草地生态系统丛枝菌根真菌的地理分布 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201411192291 作者: 作者单位: 西藏大学农牧学院,西藏大学农牧学院 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金资助项目(41161043,41461054) Geographical distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the grassland ecosystems of the Tibetan Plateau Author: Affiliation: Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College,Tibet University,Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College,Tibet University Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:西藏高原是地球上极具特色的地理单元,对生物物种的形成与演化具有重要影响。基于孢子形态学鉴定,对从藏东南到藏西北(海拔高差 > 3500 m,年均温、年均降水量差异分别 > 20 ℃、 > 800 mm)高原热带、亚热带、温带、亚寒带和寒带环境下发育而成的热性草丛、暖性草丛、温性草原、温性荒漠、高寒草甸草原、高寒草原、高寒荒漠和高寒荒漠草原中的AM真菌群落进行研究,结果表明,不同类型草地间AM真菌的群落相似度普遍较低,环境对AM真菌群落具有重要影响。从藏东南到藏西北,不同类型草地间AM真菌的群落相似度呈下降趋势(Jaccard相似性系数从0.52降至0.20),AM真菌群落组成及结构变化渐趋加大,不同草地中的同种植物(包括广谱种、青藏高原特有种)AM真菌群落相似度亦不同。沿藏东南到藏西北环境梯度,随草地寒旱程度的逐步加剧,AM真菌种的丰度,特别是种数、Shannon-Weiner指数在总体上趋于显著(P < 0.05)下降,孢子密度则在总体上趋于显著提高,优势种比例、Shannon-Weiner指数亦表现出增加的趋势,表明AM真菌物种多样性虽趋于下降,但生存及对环境的适应能力趋于提高。海拔、土壤pH、有效磷和有机碳含量对AM真菌群落组成均具显著影响,但海拔对水热环境的影响决定着土壤环境的变化。因此,海拔和寒旱程度不断上升所导致的pH显著提高、土壤有机碳和有效磷含量显著下降的综合作用影响并决定着AM真菌的群落组成。研究结果对进一步理解西藏高原生物多样性的产生和维持机制等具有重要的参考价值。 Abstract:The Tibetan plateau is a unique geographical unit that plays important roles in the formation and evolution of biological species. On the basis of spore morphology, we preliminarily investigated arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in tropical tussock (TT), warm tussock (WT), temperate desert steppe (TDS), temperate desert (TD), alpine meadow steppe (AMS), alpine steppe (AS), alpine desert (AD), and alpine desert steppe (ADS) environments in southeastern to northwestern Tibet (altitude > 3500 m; mean annual temperature difference > 20 ℃; mean annual amount of precipitation difference > 800 mm), including plateau tropic, subtropic, temperate, subfrigid, and frigid zones. The results showed that the community similarity of AM fungi in different types of grasslands was generally low, and the type of environment had an important effect on the AM fungal community. Community similarity of AM fungi in different types of grassland demonstrated a decreasing trend from southeastern to northwestern Tibet (Jaccard similarity coefficient decreased from 0.52 to 0.20). Changes in the composition and structure of the AM fungal community increased gradually. AM fungal community similarity for the same plant species (including a broad spectrum of species and species endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau) in different grasslands was also different. With a gradually aggravated degree of cold and drought in the grasslands along the environmental gradient from southeastern to northwestern Tibet, the abundance of AM fungi species, especially the number of species, showed significantly decreasing trends, according to the Shannon-Weiner index (P < 0.05). At the same time, spore density demonstrated dramatically increasing trends, and the proportion of dominant species in relation to the Shannon-Weiner index also showed a tendency to increase. This indicated that although the diversity of AM fungi showed decreasing trends, their survival and adaptability to the environment tended to improve. The effects of altitude, soil pH, effective phosphorus, and organic carbon content on AM fungal communities were significant, whereas the effects of altitude on the hydrothermal environment determined the changes in the soil environment. Therefore, AM fungal community composition was determined by the comprehensive effects of a dramatic increase in pH and soil organic carbon and a dramatic decrease in effective phosphorus content due to the gradually increasing altitude and degree of cold and drought. Our results have an important reference value for the further understanding of the production and maintenance of organism diversity in the Tibetan Plateau. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

The response of vegetation dynamics of the different alpine grassland types to temperature and precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau

The spatiotemporal variability of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of three vegetation types (alpine steppe, alpine meadow, and alpine desert steppe) across the Tibetan Plateau was analyzed from 1982 to 2013. In addition, the annual mean temperature (MAT) and annual mean precipitation (MAP) trends were quantified to define the spatiotemporal climate patterns. Meanwhile, the relationships between climate factors and NDVI were analyzed in order to understand the impact of climate change on vegetation dynamics. The results indicate that the maximum of NDVI increased by 0.3 and 0.2 % per 10 years in the entire regions of alpine steppe and alpine meadow, respectively. However, no significant change in the NDVI of the alpine desert steppe has been observed since 1982. A negative relationship between NDVI and MAT was found in all these alpine grassland types, while MAP positively impacted the vegetation dynamics of all grasslands. Also, the effects of temperature and precipitation on different vegetation types differed, and the correlation coefficient for MAP and NDVI in alpine meadow is larger than that for other vegetation types. We also explored the percentages of precipitation and temperature influence on NDVI variation, using redundancy analysis at the observation point scale. The results show that precipitation is a primary limiting factor for alpine vegetation dynamic, rather than temperature. Most importantly, the results can serve as a tool for grassland ecosystem management.

A Study on Classification and Zoning of Chinese Geoheritage Resources in National Geoparks

National geoparks are studied to classify and zone Chinese geoheritage resources. The results are as follows. (1) According to ‘cause of formation–protection’ attributes, a new geoheritage classification method is proposed based on previous works. Geoheritage resources in China can be divided into seven categories based on the new classification method. Geomorphological landscape is the largest category, accounting for 68.35 %. (2) Based on geoheritage distribution, main geological features and the local characteristics of socioeconomic development, 218 national geoparks can be divided into eight districts. These districts include the desert–steppe district; dry grassland district; mountains of Northeast China and Songnen Plain district; North China Plain; Liao River Plain; mountains of Shanxi and Hebei Provinces; Liaodong Peninsula district; Shanxi and Gansu Loess Plateau district; hills and mountains of East China, middle South China and the islands district; and Sichuan Basin and hills, Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau district and alpine desert–steppe district of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. (3) The spatial distribution of national geoparks is extensive, and geopark distribution coincides with the tectonic zone of geological structure features. Coupling relationships are obvious between spatial distributional patterns and natural and geological conditions.

The relationship between soil physical properties and alpine plant diversity on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Through a large-scale research, we examined the heterogeneity of soil properties and plant diversity, as well as their relationships across alpine grassland types on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The soil pH and EC value increased with the constant deepening of the soil in all the three alpine grassland types which in order of absolute value in every soil layer were alpine desert steppe, alpine steppe and alpine meadow. Among the three grassland types, the alpine meadow possessed the highest SM but the lowest SBD. For plant diversity, alpine meadow was the highest, alpine desert steppe ranked the second and alpine steppe was the last. SM and SBD were the highest influential soil physical properties to species richness, but with opposite effects.

Late Pleistocene–Holocene vegetation and Indian summer monsoon record from the Lahaul, Northwest Himalaya, India

The high resolution Holocene paleomonsoon records from Northwest (NW) Himalaya are limited. The carbon isotope (δ13C), Total organic carbon (TOC) and pollen analysis were therefore carried out from a peat-lake sediment sequence developed in alpine meadows of the Chandra valley, Lahaul, NW Himalaya, in order to reconstruct centennial to millennial scale vegetational changes and Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability during the Holocene. The chronology of peat-lake sediments is constrained with 9 AMS 14C dates. The recovered non-arboreal pollen (NAP) suggested that during Holocene alpine desert-steppe, meadows and shrubs growing along the stream had developed in the Lahaul valley whereas arboreal pollens (AP) e.g. Pinus, Quercus, Cedrus and Ulmus presently growing in the southern hill slopes of Pir Panjal range indicated moisture carrying monsoonal air flow from the South. The increased δ13C and low TOC values between ∼12,880 and 11,640 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP) suggested weakening of ISM and low organic carbon production corresponding to the Younger Dryas (YD) cold event. The gradual depletion in carbon isotope ratio from ∼11,640 to 8810 cal yr BP indicated enhanced precipitation in the Chandra valley in response of increased ISM strength in early Holocene. The short spell of cold and dry climate with gradual decrease in ISM intensity between ca 10,398 and 9778 cal yr BP is closely linked with Bond event-7. The other prominent cold-dry events recorded in present study are (i) ∼8810 to 8117 cal yr BP roughly corresponding to global 8.2 ka cold event, (ii) ∼4808 to 4327 cal yr BP closely preceding the global 4.2 ka cold-arid period, and (iii) ∼1303 to 1609 cal AD corresponding to Little Ice Age (LIA) event. The expansion of thermophillous broad leaved taxa viz. Betula utilis, Alnus nepalensis, Quercus semicarpifolia and Juglans regia and effective growth of meadow vegetation such as grasses, Caryophyllaceae and Artemisia along with marshy elements i.e. Polygonum and Liliaceae between ∼6732 and 3337 cal yr BP marked warm and wet Holocene climate optimum (HCO) period. The warm and moist climate from ∼1158–647 cal yr BP corresponded with global Medieval Warm Period (MWP).

阿尔金山自然保护区基于野牦牛、藏野驴、藏羚羊适宜栖息地的生态容量估测

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 阿尔金山自然保护区基于野牦牛、藏野驴、藏羚羊适宜栖息地的生态容量估测 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201405181016 作者: 作者单位: 北京师范大学环境学院 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 环保公益项目(201209033);国家"十二五"科技支撑项目(2012BAC01B02) Estimation of ecological carrying capacity for wild yak, kiang, and Tibetan antelope based on habitat suitability in the Aerjin Mountain Nature Reserve, China Author: Affiliation: School of Environment,Beijing Normal University,State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:阿尔金山国家级自然保护区保护了以野牦牛(Bos mutus)、藏野驴(Equus kiang)、藏羚羊(Pantholops hodgsoni)为代表的青藏高原特有野生动物及其栖息地,但是近年来野生动物数量的快速增长引发了栖息地退化的问题,科学量化阿尔金山自然保护区各类栖息地对野牦牛、藏羚羊、藏野驴的生态容量,并提出相应的野生动物管理措施,是实现保护区可持续管理的根本途径。本文应用遥感技术和地面调查相结合的方法,系统分析了保护区内野牦牛、藏野驴和藏羚羊的栖息地需求,建立了植物生物量和NDVI 的关系模型,结合三类野生动物的食性分析,估测了适宜栖息地(高寒草原、高寒荒漠草原、高寒草甸、高寒荒漠)为三类野生动物提供的可食植物量,推算了适宜栖息地和整个保护区可以承载三类野生动物的生态容量。结果表明:阿尔金山自然保护区内野牦牛、藏野驴和藏羚羊的适宜栖息地面积分别为31866.07、24035.51、24035.51 km2,三类野生动物的适宜栖息地之间相互重叠,藏野驴和藏羚羊的适宜栖息地基本相同;全保护区内,高寒草原、高寒荒漠草原、高寒荒漠和高寒草甸分别提供了3944.91×104、3126.32×104、138.19×104、564.49×104 kg可食植物量;结合三类野生动物的栖息地重叠程度及食物需求量分析,得出阿尔金山保护区的最大生态容量为野牦牛7951头/a、藏野驴6907头/a、藏羚羊27094只/a;结合三类野生动物对食物资源的占有率估计,得出阿尔金山三类野生动物的生态容量变幅为野牦牛3976-7156头/a,藏野驴3454-6216头/a、藏羚羊13547-24385只/a。根据阿尔金山自然保护区各类栖息地对三类野生动物的生态容量,提出适当控制藏野驴种群数量、增加藏羚羊种群数量的建议,以促进野生动物种群数量的持续增长和栖息地的有效保护。 Abstract:Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve (AMNNR) on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China, is a major refuge for three wild ungulates;wild yak (Bos mutus), kiang (Equus kiang), and Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni). This nature reserve is important for conserving these three wild endemic ungulates and their habitats. Over decades of conservation, the populations of these three ungulates have increased rapidly. However, the administrators of AMNNR considered that the kiang might have become overpopulated, which would result in habitat degradation. Thus, it is vital implement wildlife management planning based on the quantification of ecological carrying capacity for sustainable nature reserve management. In this study, vehicular transects were conducted to survey the distribution data and record the populations of wild yak, kiang, and Tibetan antelope from May to June, 2012, and June to July, 2013, in the AMNNR. We integrated remote sensing data analysis with on-the-ground plot surveys to identify suitable habitats (alpine steppe, alpine desert steppe, alpine desert, and alpine meadow) for all three ungulates, and we estimated habitat production. A dietary analysis of wild yak, kiang, and Tibetan antelope was completed to estimate the amount of edible grasses required for the three wild ungulates in suitable habitats. Using the empirical formula (calculation of the proper carrying capacity of rangelands) provided by the PRC Ministry of Agriculture, we quantified the carrying capacity for all three species in suitable habitats and in the whole natural reserve. The results showed that areas of suitable habitat for wild yak, kiang, and Tibetan antelope were 31866.07 km2, 24035.51 km2, and 24035.51 km2, respectively. There were big overlaps in the suitable habitats for all three wild ungulates, which shared almost the same suitable habitats. Within the suitable habitats, alpine steppe, alpine desert steppe, alpine desert, and alpine meadow could potentially provide 3944.91×104 kg, 3126.32×104 kg, 138.19×104 kg, and 564.49×104 kg edible grasses, respectively for these three species. Considering the overlaps of suitable habitats and the different requirements of the three species, the maximum ecological carrying capacities of the whole nature reserve were estimated to be 7951 heads/year for wild yak, 6907 heads/year for kiang, and 24959 heads/year for Tibetan antelope. The ecological carrying capacity ranges under different probabilities of food availability were 3976-7156 heads/year for wild yak, 3454-6216 heads/year for kiang, and 13547-24385 heads/year for Tibetan antelope. Comparison of the actual population size and that which could be supported by the ecological carrying capacity of suitable habitats within the AMNNR, indicated that kiang are overpopulated, wild yak are close to the maximum ecological carrying capacity, and Tibetan antelope are underpopulated. Therefore, the best management practice should be applied to control the kiang population and to promote the Tibetan antelope population. Such action would balance the different wildlife species that share the same habitats and would maintain habitat health to sustain the AMNNR. Conservation efforts should focus on the long-term ecological monitoring of habitats in the reserve to avoid grassland degradation caused by the overpopulation of animals. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Biomass allocation patterns of alpine grassland species and functional groups along a precipitation gradient on the Northern Tibetan Plateau

Variations in the fractions of biomass allocated to functional components are widely considered as plant responses to resource availability for grassland plants. Observations indicated shoots isometrically relates to roots at the community level but allometrically at the species level in Tibetan alpine grasslands. These differences may result from the specific complementarity of functional groups between functional components, such as leaf, root, stem and reproductive organ. To test the component complementary responses to regional moisture variation, we conducted a multi-site transect survey to measure plant individual size and component biomass fractions of common species belonging to the functional groups: forbs, grasses, legumes and sedges on the Northern Tibetan Plateau in peak growing season in 2010. Along the mean annual precipitation (MAP) gradient, we sampled 70 species, in which 20 are in alpine meadows, 20 in alpine steppes, 15 in alpine desert-steppes and 15 in alpine deserts, respectively. Our results showed that the size of alpine plants is small with individual biomass mostly lower than 1.0 g. Plants keep relative conservative component fractions across alpine grasslands at the individual level. However, the complementary responses between functional components to moisture variations specifically differ among functional groups. These results indicate that functional group diversity may be an effective tool for scaling biomass allocation patterns from individual up to community level. Therefore, it is necessary and valuable to perform intensive and systematic studies on identification and differentiation the influences of compositional changes in functional groups on ecosystem primary services and processes.

Linking thaw depth with soil moisture and plant community composition: effects of permafrost degradation on alpine ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The warming of the planet in recent decades has caused rapid, widespread permafrost degradation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. These changes may significantly affect soil moisture content and nutrient supply, thereby affecting ecosystem structure and function. This study aimed to describe the dynamic changes in thaw depth, assess the relationship between thaw depth and soil moisture content, and analyze the changes in species composition and water-use efficiency in response to permafrost degradation. We surveyed species composition, thaw depth, ground temperature, soil moisture, nutrient content, and foliar stable carbon isotope compositions to gain insights into the response of alpine grassland ecosystems to permafrost degradation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Moisture content of the surface layer decreased with increasing thaw depth. The correlation between thaw depth and surface soil moisture content was strongest in June and decreased in July and August. The strongest correlation occurred at a depth of 20 cm to 30 cm. The dominant species shifted from Cyperaceae in alpine meadow to mesoxerophytes in alpine steppe before finally shifting to xerophytes in alpine desert steppe. Thaw depth correlation was significantly negative with organic C content (r = −0.49, P < 0.05) and with total N content (r = −0.62, P < 0.01). The leaf δ13C of Carex moorcroftii increased with increasing thaw depth and followed a linear relationship (R 2 = 0.85, P = 0.008). Permafrost degradation decreases surface soil moisture and soil nutrient supply capacity. Increasing permafrost degradation decreases the number of plant families and species, with hygrophytes and mesophytes gradually replaced by mesoxerophytes and xerophytes. The water-use efficiency of plants improved in response to increasing water stress as surface layers dried during permafrost degradation. Permafrost on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is expected to further degrade as global warming worsens. Therefore, more attention should be dedicated to the response of alpine ecosystems during permafrost degradation.

Distribution of carbon isotope composition of modern soils on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

This paper presents a large data set on carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of modern soils which were collected under the main vegetation communities along an altitude of 1250–5500 m above sea level in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The δ13C values of 198 samples range from −28.6 to −15.1‰ versus PDB and exhibit a clean relation to different vegetation communities from forest (−25.9 ± 1.2‰) to shrub (−24.7 ± 1.4‰), steppe (−23.1 ± 1.3‰), alpine meadow (−23.6 ± 0.7‰), alpine desert steppe (−21.3 ± 1.6‰), and alpine desert (−18.9 ± 2.5‰). We attributed the observed variability in δ13C values to that the mean annual precipitation (MAP) and the mean annual temperature (MAT) are the main factors controlling the distribution of vegetation types in the Tibetan Plateau, which causes the change in carbon isotope composition of modern soils at any given altitude. The result of both linear and nonlinear regression analyses also confirms that MAP and MAT are the major factors affecting the δ13C values of surface soils. In the absence of favorable moisture and temperature conditions, low pCO2 alone is not sufficient to cause the distinct changes in carbon isotope composition of modern soils in the Tibetan Plateau. This study provides some fundamental information on the carbon isotope composition of terrestrial carbon pools and bears some practical significance for the use of carbon isotope data to document vegetation changes and environmental conditions of the high plateau in the past.

Protecting the national parks and the world heritage sites in China: challenge and strategy

About 70% of its land area as mountains and plateaus, China is the largest mountain country in the world. Thanks to its vast territory (9.6 million km2), outstanding relief and varied climates, China boasts extremely plenty of ecosystems and landscapes. From south to north, it traverses almost all the temporal zones from tropical rainforest in the southernmost to frigid-temperate needle-leaved forest in the northernmost; from east to west, it sees a gradual transition fro humid forest landscape to extremely arid desert landscape; vertical change of landscapes is most striking owing to the existence of many high mountains (above 6000–7000 m, e.g., the Himalayas, the Kunlun, the Tianshan, the Hengduan, etc.) and plateaus, especially the immense Tibetan Plateau (averagely 4500 m above sea level). All of this give rise to the richness and diversity of ecosystems and landscape in China. Some of the ecosystems are endemic to China, e.g., alpine desert and alpine steppe in the Tibetan Plateau. As a result, China bears a great responsibility in the protection of global ecosystems and landscape.