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Yun H, Ciais P, Zhu Q, Chen D, Zohner CM, Tang J, Qu Y, Zhou H, Schimel J, Zhu P, Shao M, Christensen JH, Wu Q, Chen A, Elberling B. Changes in above- versus belowground biomass distribution in permafrost regions in response to climate warming. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2314036121. [PMID: 38857391 PMCID: PMC11194490 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2314036121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Permafrost regions contain approximately half of the carbon stored in land ecosystems and have warmed at least twice as much as any other biome. This warming has influenced vegetation activity, leading to changes in plant composition, physiology, and biomass storage in aboveground and belowground components, ultimately impacting ecosystem carbon balance. Yet, little is known about the causes and magnitude of long-term changes in the above- to belowground biomass ratio of plants (η). Here, we analyzed η values using 3,013 plots and 26,337 species-specific measurements across eight sites on the Tibetan Plateau from 1995 to 2021. Our analysis revealed distinct temporal trends in η for three vegetation types: a 17% increase in alpine wetlands, and a decrease of 26% and 48% in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, respectively. These trends were primarily driven by temperature-induced growth preferences rather than shifts in plant species composition. Our findings indicate that in wetter ecosystems, climate warming promotes aboveground plant growth, while in drier ecosystems, such as alpine meadows and alpine steppes, plants allocate more biomass belowground. Furthermore, we observed a threefold strengthening of the warming effect on η over the past 27 y. Soil moisture was found to modulate the sensitivity of η to soil temperature in alpine meadows and alpine steppes, but not in alpine wetlands. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the processes driving the response of biomass distribution to climate warming, which is crucial for predicting the future carbon trajectory of permafrost ecosystems and climate feedback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanbo Yun
- State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Beilu'He Observation and Research Station on Tibetan Plateau, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
- Center for Permafrost, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK1350, Denmark
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47906
| | - Philippe Ciais
- IPSL-Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives CNRS UVSQ Université ParisSaclay, Centre d'Etudes Orme des Merisiers, Gif sur Yvette 91191, France
| | - Qing Zhu
- Climate Sciences Department, Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Deliang Chen
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg 405 30, Sweden
| | - Constantin M Zohner
- Institute of Integrative Biology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Zurich 168092, Switzerland
| | - Jing Tang
- Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology and Center of Volatile Interactions, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK-2100, Denmark
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund SE-22236, Sweden
| | - Yang Qu
- Institute for Global Innovation and Development, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Hao Zhou
- Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Lund SE-22236, Sweden
| | - Joshua Schimel
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93108
| | - Peng Zhu
- Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, Special Administrative Region of China
- Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, Special Administrative Region of China
| | - Ming Shao
- Key laboratory of oil and gas resources exploration and development in Gansu province, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | | | - Qingbai Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Beilu'He Observation and Research Station on Tibetan Plateau, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
| | - Anping Chen
- Department of Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523
| | - Bo Elberling
- Center for Permafrost, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen DK1350, Denmark
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Saixiyala, Chen L, Yi F, Qiu X, Sun H, Cao H, Baoyin T, Ye X, Huang Z. Warming in combination with increased precipitation mediate the sexual and clonal reproduction in the desert steppe dominant species Stipa breviflora. BMC PLANT BIOLOGY 2023; 23:474. [PMID: 37807079 PMCID: PMC10561481 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-023-04439-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clonal plants can successfully adapt to various ecosystems. A trade-off between sexual and clonal reproduction is generally assumed in clonal plants, which may be influenced both by the characteristics of the plant itself and environmental conditions. Currently, it is unclear how climate change, and specifically warming and increased precipitation, might affect sexual and clonal reproduction in clonal plants. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate both the sexual and clonal reproduction responses of Stipa breviflora to warming and increased precipitation. A controlled experiment was conducted by inducing increases in precipitation (ambient condition, 25% and 50% increases) and warming (ambient temperature, 1.5 °C and 3.0 °C increases). RESULTS Warming significantly influenced both the ratio of reproductive ramet shoot biomass to total shoot biomass, and the ratio of reproductive ramet number to total ramet number. Additionally, the ratio of reproductive ramet shoot biomass to total shoot biomass was also significantly affected by increased precipitation. Increased precipitation benefited sexual reproduction, while effects of warming on reproductive and/or vegetative ramets varied from negative to positive depending on precipitation conditions. There was no relationship between the number or shoot biomass of reproductive ramets and vegetative ramets. Reproductive ramets displayed greater sensitivity to climate change than vegetative ramets. CONCLUSIONS The findings of our study suggest that there was no trade-off between sexual and clonal reproduction in S. breviflora. The combined impact of warming and increased precipitation promoted sexual reproduction but did not inhibit clonal reproduction. Clonal plants with the capacity for both sexual and clonal reproduction, may cope with climate change well via clonal reproduction, ensuring their survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saixiyala
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, China
| | - Lingling Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, China
| | - Fengyan Yi
- Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot, 010030, China
| | - Xiao Qiu
- Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot, 010030, China
| | - Hailian Sun
- Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot, 010030, China
| | - Hongxia Cao
- Suzhou Vocational Technical College, Suzhou, 234099, China
| | - Taogetao Baoyin
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Ecology and Resource Use of the Mongolian Plateau and Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology, School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, China.
| | - Xuehua Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China.
| | - Zhenying Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, China
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Rembelski M, Fraterrigo J. Drought reduces invasive grass performance by disrupting plant-microbe interactions that enhance plant nitrogen supply. Oecologia 2023; 201:549-564. [PMID: 36598562 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05307-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Non-native invasive plants can promote their dominance in novel ecosystems by accelerating soil nutrient cycling via interactions with decomposer microbes. Changes in abiotic conditions associated with frequent or prolonged drought may disrupt these interactions, but the effects of disruption on invasive plant performance and the underpinning mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we used rainout shelters in an experimental field setting to test the hypothesis that drought reduces invasive plant performance by reducing microbial metabolic activity, resulting in decreased nitrogen flow to plants. We imposed growing season drought on populations of the exotic grass Microstegium vimineum, a widespread invasive plant in eastern deciduous forests, and quantified effects on aboveground and belowground biomass, and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling among plants, decomposers, and soil. Drought resulted in a 24% decrease in soil respiration, a 16% decrease in phenol oxidase enzyme activity, a 12% decrease in dissolved organic N concentration, and a decrease in the C:N ratio of particulate organic matter, suggesting reduced microbial metabolic activity and nutrient mining of soil organic matter. Drought also reduced aboveground Microstegium biomass 33% and increased Microstegium leaf C:N ratio, consistent with a decline in plant N uptake. We conclude that drought can reduce the performance of existing invasive species populations by suppressing plant-microbe interactions that increase nitrogen supply to plants, which may have consequences for the persistence of invasive plants under hydrologic change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Rembelski
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Jennifer Fraterrigo
- Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. .,Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
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De Vitis M, Havens K, Barak RS, Egerton-Warburton L, Ernst AR, Evans M, Fant JB, Foxx AJ, Hadley K, Jabcon J, O’Shaughnessey J, Ramakrishna S, Sollenberger D, Taddeo S, Urbina-Casanova R, Woolridge C, Xu L, Zeldin J, Kramer AT. Why are some plant species missing from restorations? A diagnostic tool for temperate grassland ecosystems. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.1028295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The U.N. Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to accelerate actions to prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems, and re-establish ecosystem functioning and species diversity. The practice of ecological restoration has made great progress in recent decades, as has recognition of the importance of species diversity to maintaining the long-term stability and functioning of restored ecosystems. Restorations may also focus on specific species to fulfill needed functions, such as supporting dependent wildlife or mitigating extinction risk. Yet even in the most carefully planned and managed restoration, target species may fail to germinate, establish, or persist. To support the successful reintroduction of ecologically and culturally important plant species with an emphasis on temperate grasslands, we developed a tool to diagnose common causes of missing species, focusing on four major categories of filters, or factors: genetic, biotic, abiotic, and planning & land management. Through a review of the scientific literature, we propose a series of diagnostic tests to identify potential causes of failure to restore target species, and treatments that could improve future outcomes. This practical diagnostic tool is meant to strengthen collaboration between restoration practitioners and researchers on diagnosing and treating causes of missing species in order to effectively restore them.
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