Grassland covers approximately one-third of the area of China and plays an important role in the global terrestrial carbon(C) cycle.However,little is known about biomass C stocks and dynamics in these grasslands.Durin...Grassland covers approximately one-third of the area of China and plays an important role in the global terrestrial carbon(C) cycle.However,little is known about biomass C stocks and dynamics in these grasslands.During 2001-2005,we conducted five consecutive field sampling campaigns to investigate above-and below-ground biomass for northern China's grasslands.Using measurements obtained from 341 sampling sites,together with a NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) time series dataset over 1982-2006,we examined changes in biomass C stock during the past 25 years.Our results showed that biomass C stock in northern China's grasslands was estimated at 557.5 Tg C(1 Tg=1012 g),with a mean density of 39.5 g C m-2 for above-ground biomass and 244.6 g C m-2 for below-ground biomass.An increasing rate of 0.2 Tg C yr-1 has been observed over the past 25 years,but grassland biomass has not experienced a significant change since the late 1980s.Seasonal rainfall(January-July) was the dominant factor driving temporal dynamics in biomass C stock;however,the responses of grassland biomass to climate variables differed among various grassland types.Biomass in arid grasslands(i.e.,desert steppe and typical steppe) was significantly associated with precipitation,while biomass in humid grasslands(i.e.,alpine meadow) was positively correlated with mean January-July temperatures.These results suggest that different grassland ecosystems in China may show diverse responses to future climate changes.展开更多
Biomass allocation patterns among plant species are related to their adaptive ecological strategies. Ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plant life forms represent three typical growth strategies of plants that grow in a...Biomass allocation patterns among plant species are related to their adaptive ecological strategies. Ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plant life forms represent three typical growth strategies of plants that grow in autumn and early spring in the cold deserts of China. These plants play an important role in reducing wind velocity in the desert areas. However, despite numerous studies, the strategies of biomass allocation among plant species with these three life forms remain contentious. In this study, we conducted a preliminary quadrat study during 2014–2016 in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert, China, to investigate the allocation patterns of above-ground biomass(AGB) and below-ground biomass(BGB) at the individual level in 17 ephemeral, 3 ephemeroid and 4 annual plant species. Since ephemeral plants can germinate in autumn, we also compared biomass allocation patterns between plants that germinated in autumn 2015 and spring 2016 for 4 common ephemeral species. The healthy mature individual plants of each species were sampled and the AGB, BGB, total biomass(TB), leaf mass ratio(LMR) and root/shoot ratio(R/S) were calculated for 201 sample quadrats in the study area. We also studied the relationships between AGB and BGB of plants with the three different life forms(ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual). The mean AGB values of ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plants were 0.806, 3.759 and 1.546 g/plant, respectively, and the mean BGB values were 0.106, 4.996 and 0.166 g/plant, respectively. The mean R/S value was significantly higher in ephemeroid plants(1.675) than in ephemeral(0.154) and annual(0.147) plants. The mean LMR was the highest in annual plants, followed by ephemeroid plants and ephemeral plants, reflecting the fact that annual plants allocate more biomass to leaves, associated with their longer life span. Biomass of ephemeral plants that germinated in autumn was significantly higher than those of corresponding plants that germinated in spring in terms of AGB, BGB and TB. However, the R/S val展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 90711002 and 90211016)
文摘Grassland covers approximately one-third of the area of China and plays an important role in the global terrestrial carbon(C) cycle.However,little is known about biomass C stocks and dynamics in these grasslands.During 2001-2005,we conducted five consecutive field sampling campaigns to investigate above-and below-ground biomass for northern China's grasslands.Using measurements obtained from 341 sampling sites,together with a NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index) time series dataset over 1982-2006,we examined changes in biomass C stock during the past 25 years.Our results showed that biomass C stock in northern China's grasslands was estimated at 557.5 Tg C(1 Tg=1012 g),with a mean density of 39.5 g C m-2 for above-ground biomass and 244.6 g C m-2 for below-ground biomass.An increasing rate of 0.2 Tg C yr-1 has been observed over the past 25 years,but grassland biomass has not experienced a significant change since the late 1980s.Seasonal rainfall(January-July) was the dominant factor driving temporal dynamics in biomass C stock;however,the responses of grassland biomass to climate variables differed among various grassland types.Biomass in arid grasslands(i.e.,desert steppe and typical steppe) was significantly associated with precipitation,while biomass in humid grasslands(i.e.,alpine meadow) was positively correlated with mean January-July temperatures.These results suggest that different grassland ecosystems in China may show diverse responses to future climate changes.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA20020101)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31400394)
文摘Biomass allocation patterns among plant species are related to their adaptive ecological strategies. Ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plant life forms represent three typical growth strategies of plants that grow in autumn and early spring in the cold deserts of China. These plants play an important role in reducing wind velocity in the desert areas. However, despite numerous studies, the strategies of biomass allocation among plant species with these three life forms remain contentious. In this study, we conducted a preliminary quadrat study during 2014–2016 in the southern part of the Gurbantunggut Desert, China, to investigate the allocation patterns of above-ground biomass(AGB) and below-ground biomass(BGB) at the individual level in 17 ephemeral, 3 ephemeroid and 4 annual plant species. Since ephemeral plants can germinate in autumn, we also compared biomass allocation patterns between plants that germinated in autumn 2015 and spring 2016 for 4 common ephemeral species. The healthy mature individual plants of each species were sampled and the AGB, BGB, total biomass(TB), leaf mass ratio(LMR) and root/shoot ratio(R/S) were calculated for 201 sample quadrats in the study area. We also studied the relationships between AGB and BGB of plants with the three different life forms(ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual). The mean AGB values of ephemeral, ephemeroid and annual plants were 0.806, 3.759 and 1.546 g/plant, respectively, and the mean BGB values were 0.106, 4.996 and 0.166 g/plant, respectively. The mean R/S value was significantly higher in ephemeroid plants(1.675) than in ephemeral(0.154) and annual(0.147) plants. The mean LMR was the highest in annual plants, followed by ephemeroid plants and ephemeral plants, reflecting the fact that annual plants allocate more biomass to leaves, associated with their longer life span. Biomass of ephemeral plants that germinated in autumn was significantly higher than those of corresponding plants that germinated in spring in terms of AGB, BGB and TB. However, the R/S val
