Precipitation variability modulates grazing effects on seedling bank and its similarity to aboveground vegetation in semi-arid grassland

IF 6.4 1区 农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Yuhui He , Xinping Liu , Hongjiao Hu , Yuanzhi Xu , Jiaqi Jing , Yao Zhang
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Abstract

The seedling bank plays a critical role in vegetation succession, regeneration, and restoration, particularly in disturbed environments under climate change. However, knowledge regarding how seedling banks respond to grazing disturbance under varying precipitation regimes remains limited. In this study, we conducted a three-year experiment in a semi-arid sandy grassland to examine the effects of grazing intensity (light, moderate, and heavy) and interannual precipitation variation on the seedling bank, aboveground vegetation, and their similarity. Our results demonstrated that grazing significantly influenced the density, species richness, and diversity of both the seedling bank and aboveground vegetation, with these effects being mediated by precipitation. Grazing effects on seedling density varied with precipitation and differed among functional groups: grass density exhibited a unimodal response, peaking under moderate grazing before declining, whereas forb density increased monotonically with grazing intensity. The significance of grazing effects on seedling density within different functional groups determines the overall density variations of annual communities, with seedling/plant density positively correlated with grazing intensity. Aboveground vegetation density for both grasses and forbs mirrored the trends observed in the seedling bank. Light grazing enhanced seedling diversity and evenness, particularly in exceptionally wet years, while moderate grazing promoted species richness and diversity in aboveground vegetation. Compositional similarity between the seedling bank and aboveground vegetation decreased with grazing in wet years but reached its lowest level under moderate grazing in dry year. Additionally, precipitation variability had a relatively minor impact on seedling bank and vegetation characteristics under light grazing. These findings highlight the necessity of functional group-specific grazing management strategies tailored to different precipitation regimes, which will be essential for precision grazing and effective vegetation restoration under future climate scenarios.
降水变率调节放牧对半干旱草地幼苗库及其与地上植被相似性的影响
苗木库在植被演替、更新和恢复中起着至关重要的作用,特别是在气候变化干扰环境下。然而,关于不同降水条件下幼苗库如何响应放牧干扰的知识仍然有限。本研究以半干旱沙质草地为研究对象,研究了不同放牧强度(轻、中、重度)和年际降水变化对苗木库、地上植被的影响及其相似性。结果表明,放牧对苗木库和地上植被的密度、物种丰富度和多样性均有显著影响,而这些影响是由降水介导的。放牧对幼苗密度的影响随降水变化而变化,且不同功能群间存在差异:牧草密度表现出单峰响应,在适度放牧时达到峰值后下降,而牧草密度随放牧强度单调增加。放牧对不同功能群内幼苗密度的显著影响决定了一年生群落的总体密度变化,幼苗/株密度与放牧强度呈正相关。禾本科和禾本科地上植被密度与苗库的变化趋势一致。轻度放牧提高了幼苗多样性和均匀度,特别是在异常湿润的年份,而适度放牧提高了地上植被的物种丰富度和多样性。丰水年随着放牧,苗库与地上植被的相似度降低,干旱年适度放牧时相似度最低。此外,在轻放牧条件下,降水变率对苗库和植被特征的影响相对较小。这些发现强调了针对不同降水制度制定功能群体特定放牧管理策略的必要性,这将对未来气候情景下的精确放牧和有效植被恢复至关重要。
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来源期刊
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 环境科学-环境科学
CiteScore
11.70
自引率
9.10%
发文量
392
审稿时长
26 days
期刊介绍: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment publishes scientific articles dealing with the interface between agroecosystems and the natural environment, specifically how agriculture influences the environment and how changes in that environment impact agroecosystems. Preference is given to papers from experimental and observational research at the field, system or landscape level, from studies that enhance our understanding of processes using data-based biophysical modelling, and papers that bridge scientific disciplines and integrate knowledge. All papers should be placed in an international or wide comparative context.
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