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| Titel |
Effects of grazing on leaf traits and ecosystem functioning in Inner Mongolia grasslands: scaling from species to community |
| VerfasserIn |
S. X. Zheng, H. Y. Ren, Z. C. Lan, W. H. Li, K. B. Wang, Y. F. Bai |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1726-4170
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Biogeosciences ; 7, no. 3 ; Nr. 7, no. 3 (2010-03-26), S.1117-1132 |
| Datensatznummer |
250004597
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/bg-7-1117-2010.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Understanding the mechanistic links between environmental drivers, human
disturbance, plant functional traits, and ecosystem properties is a
fundamental aspect of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research. Recent
studies have focused mostly on leaf-level traits or community-level weighted
traits to predict species responses to grazing and the consequent change in
ecosystem functioning. However, studies of leaf-level traits or
community-level weighted traits seldom identify the mechanisms linking
grazing impact on leaf traits to ecosystem functioning. Here, using a
multi-organization-level approach, we examined the effects of grazing on
leaf traits (i.e., leaf area, leaf dry mass and specific leaf area) and
ecosystem functioning across six communities of three vegetation types along
a soil moisture gradient in the Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia
grassland, China. Our results showed that the effects of grazing on leaf
traits differed substantially when scaling up from leaf-level to species,
functional group (i.e., life forms and water ecotype types), and community
levels; and they also varied with vegetation type or site conditions. The
effects of grazing on leaf traits diminished progressively along the
hierarchy of organizational levels in the meadow, whereas the impacts were
predominantly negative and the magnitude of the effects increased
considerably at higher organizational levels in the typical steppe. Soil
water and nutrient availability, functional trade-offs between leaf size and
number of leaves per individual, and differentiation in avoidance and
tolerance strategies among coexisting species are likely to be responsible for the
observed responses of leaf traits to grazing at different levels of
organization and among vegetation types. Our findings also demonstrate that,
at both the functional group and community levels, standing aboveground
biomass increased with leaf area and specific leaf area. Compared with the
large changes in leaf traits and standing aboveground biomass, the soil
properties were relatively unaffected by grazing. Our study indicates that a
multi-organization-level approach provides more robust and comprehensive
predictions of the effects of grazing on leaf traits and ecosystem
functioning. |
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