Changes in plant biomass and species composition of alpine Kobresia meadows along altitudinal gradient on the Qinghai-Ti

Alpine Kobresia meadows are major vegetation types on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. There is growing concern over their relationships among biodiversity, productivity and environments. Despite the importance of species composition, species richness, the type of different growth forms, and plant biomass structure for Kobresia meadow ecosystems, few studies have been focused on the relationship between biomass and environmental gradient in the Kobresia meadow plant communities, particularly in relation to soil moisture and edaphic gradients. We measured the plant species composition, herbaceous litter, aboveground and belowground biomass in three Kobresia meadow plant communities in Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station from 2001 to 2004. Community differences in plant species composition were reflected in biomass distribution. The total biomass showed a decrease from 13196.96±719.69 g/m2 in the sedge-dominated K. tibetica swamp to 2869.58±147.52 g/m2 in the forb and sedge dominated K. pygmaea meadow, and to 2153.08±141.95 g/m2 in the forbs and grasses dominated K. humilis along with the increase of altitude. The vertical distribution of belowground biomass is distinct in the three meadow communities, and the belowground biomass at the depth of 0-10 cm in K. tibetica swamp meadow was significantly higher than that in K. humilis and K. pygmaea meadows (P＜0.01). The herbaceous litter in K. tibetica swamp was significantly higher than those in K. pygnaeca and K. humilis meadows. The effects of plant litter are enhanced when ground water and soil moisture levels are raised. The relative importance of litter and vegetation may vary with soil water availability. In the K. tibetica swamp, total biomass was negatively correlated to species richness (P＜0.05); aboveground biomass was positively correlated to soil organic matter, soil moisture, and plant cover (P＜0.05); belowground biomass was positively correlated with soil moisture (P＜0.05). However, in the K. pygnaeca and K. humilis meadow communities, aboveground biomass was positively correlated to soil organic matter and soil total nitrogen (P＜0.05). This suggests that the distribution of biomass coincided with soil moisture and edaphic gradient in alpine meadows.

作 者： WANG ChangTing CAO GuangMin WANG QiLan JING ZengChun DING LuMing LONG RuiJun   作者單位： WANG ChangTing(Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China;Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China)

CAO GuangMin,WANG QiLan,JING ZengChun,DING LuMing(Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810001, China)

LONG RuiJun(College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730070, China) 

刊 名： 中國科學C輯（英文版）  SCI 英文刊名： SCIENCE IN CHINA SERIES C LIFE SCIENCES  年，卷(期)： 2008 51(1)  分類號：   關鍵詞： plant species richness   plant litter   aboveground biomass   belowground biomass   soil moisture   alpine meadow  

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