Researchers at the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have made new progress in revealing the nitrogen-water regulation mechanism of the desert steppe ecosystem
Nitrogen deposition magnifies the sensitivity of desert steppe plant communities to large changes in precipitation
Moisture and nitrogen are two key ecological factors that determine the level of vegetation productivity and maintain community structure in terrestrial ecosystems, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. However, under the background of climate warming and drying, how precipitation changes, nitrogen deposition and their interactions affect the productivity and community structure of desert steppe vegetation are still unclear, which seriously restricts the management and sustainable development of desert ecosystems.
The Xu Zhenzhu Research Group of the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences found that based on the long-term field simulation data of the large precipitation gradient (including extreme drought and extreme precipitation type) and nitrogen addition interaction in the desert steppe ecosystem in northern Inner Mongolia, the net primary productivity of desert steppe vegetation above ground. (ANPP) and plant community level (CWM) will increase linearly with the increase of precipitation, and nitrogen addition will further enhance the precipitation effect, especially the sensitivity of plants to precipitation changes. The researchers further found that with the increase of precipitation, the species composition of desert steppe community changed significantly. The dominant species were transformed from perennial grasses such as Stipa grandis to non-grass plants such as Artemisia capillaris. This means that the ongoing climate change and its coupling with nitrogen deposition will likely have an irreversible impact on the desert steppe ecosystem.
The study provides a new perspective for understanding how ecosystems adapt to climate change and nutrient enrichment, and provides a basis for ecosystem restoration, reconstruction, sustainability assessment and management. Research has shown that it is necessary to strengthen the adaptation and mitigation of ecosystems to climate change to ensure the sustainable development of the Earth system.
The research results were published online July 31 in the international academic journal Journal of Ecology. Ma Zhenhui, Ph.D. student of Xu Zhenzhu's research group, is the first author of the paper. Researcher Xu Zhenzhu and researcher Zhou Guangsheng of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences are the authors of the communication. The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Meteorological Scientific Research Project of the Public Welfare Industry.
